The Russians are planning to simulate an attack on Zaporizhzhya NPP facilities to blame Ukraine for the shelling and thus deter the offensive of the Defence Forces, a representative of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine, Andriy Yusov, has said, RBC-Ukraine reports.
According to Yusov, the Russians are preparing a provocation in the near future, with nuclear material leakage. "For this purpose, the occupiers have already deployed appropriate means of destruction on the territory of the ZNPP," Yusov said.
After this provocation, the Russians want to involve "experts" of Rosatom and representatives of international structures and organisations, including the IAEA, to "record" the strikes.
"The purpose of this provocation is to accuse Ukraine of the alleged shelling of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant. However, the main goal of the Russians is to obstruct the actions of the Ukrainian Security and Defence Forces to liberate our occupied territories in the east and south of Ukraine. After all, the occupiers may then demand a moratorium on military action," Yusov explained.
He added that the Russian occupiers could arrange such provocations using elements of nuclear materials and chemical weapons along the entire frontline in eastern and southern Ukraine.
Later, the Main Intelligence Directorate reported that it was a matter of hours. "In order to conceal their actions as much as possible, the ruscists disrupted the planned rotation of the IAEA permanent monitoring mission personnel," the intelligence service said.