RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE
Kiev ‘regime’ poses threat to all of Europe – Moscow
The international community should resolutely respond to reports about alleged plans by Kiev to attack the nuclear power plant in Kursk, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday.
Earlier, Russian journalists reported on the plot, and the Defense Ministry vowed a swift and harsh response if these plans come to fruition.
The Ukrainian military launched a cross-border incursion into the Russian border region where the plant is located last week.
The facility is 90km from the border, which has become the arena of fierce clashes in recent days.
“We call on the international bodies, the UN and the [International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)] in particular, to immediately condemn the provocative actions prepared by the Kiev regime and to prevent the violation of both nuclear and physical security of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant,” Zakharova said in a statement published by the ministry on Telegram. These actions by the Ukrainian military “could result in a large-scale technogenic catastrophe in Europe,” she warned.
Kiev’s plans do not just pose a “direct threat”to the nuclear power plant’s security but also go against the principles of the IAEA formulated by its head, Rafael Grossi, in 2022, amid the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the spokeswoman stated.
“The entire international community should understand the threat posed by the neo-Nazi Kiev regime to the European continent,”Zakharova said. She also maintained that any attempts to “intimidate and terrorize entire regions and all of the international community should be resolutely stopped by joint efforts.”
Neither the UN nor the IAEA have responded to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement as of Saturday evening.
Russian military journalist Marat Khairullin reported on Friday, citing sources, that Kiev was plotting a false flag operation involving the detonation of a dirty atomic bomb and targeting the spent nuclear fuel storages of a nuclear power plant. According to reporters, the operation would either be directed against Russia’s Zaporozhye NPP in Energodar or the Kursk NPP.
The Zaporozhye plant is the largest in Europe and is also located close to the front line. Kiev has vehemently denied the allegations.
The Russian Defense Ministry responded to the reports by saying that any attempts to create a “man-made disaster in the European part of the continent” would be met with “tough military and military-technical countermeasures.”
WESTERN PERSPECTIVE
Russia denies report about indirect talks with Ukraine
Russia on Sunday denied a report that Ukraine's attack on the Kursk region had derailed indirect talks with Kyiv on halting strikes on energy and power targets, saying there had been no talks with Kyiv about civilian infrastructure facilities.
The Washington Post reported on Saturdaythat Ukraine and Russia were set to send delegations to Qatar this month to negotiate a landmark agreement halting strikes on energy and power infrastructure on both warring sides.
The Post said the agreement would have amounted to a partial ceasefire but that the talks were derailed due to Ukraine's attack on Russian sovereign territory.
"No one broke anything off because there was nothing to break off," Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry, said of the Post report.
"There have been no direct or indirect negotiations between Russia and the Kyiv regime on the safety of civilian critical infrastructure facilities."
Ukraine's government did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The Post reported that Ukraine's presidential office said the summit in Doha had been postponed due to the situation in the Middle East and that it would take place in video conference format on Aug. 22.
Russia and Ukraine have both accused each other of striking civilian infrastructure in the war. Both deny they do so.
Zakharova then quoted President Vladimir Putin who on Aug. 12 questioned what talks there could be with Ukraine after its ground attack on Russia, and what he said were attacks on Russian civilian infrastructure.
"There is nothing to talk about with people who unleash such things," Zakharova said.
Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022 in what it calls a "special military operation" and now holds about 18 percent of the country. Ukraine's cross-border strike into the Kursk region on Aug. 6 was the first military incursion into Russian territory since World War Two.
RT/Reuters