MOSCOW. Nov 5 (Interfax) - Attacks by Ukrainian forces on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) may cause irreversible consequences, a senior Russian Defense Ministry official said on Tuesday.
"Attacks on industrial facilities and the satellite town of Energodar, where the plant's personnel live, have continued up to present," Russian Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Protection Forces chief Igor Kirillov said.
"The Ukrainian Security Service is conducting sabotage and terrorist activities, including against ZNPP employees and government officials," Kirillov said.
"I'd like to point out that firing upon critical infrastructure elements might lead to irreversible consequences comparable to the accidents at the Chernobyl and Fukushima-1 nuclear power plants," Kirillov said.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces carried out 49 strikes upon ZNPP facilities using artillery and drones in 2022, Kirillov said.
"The strikes were targeted at nuclear reactors, storages of fresh and spent nuclear fuel, and other critical infrastructure elements. Those attacks left the station without outer power supply five times, which posed a tangible threat of a manmade disaster," he said.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces' attacks on the ZNPP did not cause the international community's worries at first, he said.
"However, a forecast of a radiation situation made by our specialists and confirmed later by specialized European organizations showed that an eruption of radioactive substances in case of an accident would affect virtually the whole of Europe. It's only after that and after the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] deployed its inspectors at the plant that its attacks were virtually stopped," Kirillov said.