Russia’s foreign intelligence service accuses Ukraine of stockpiling weapons at nuclear power plants

Against Ukrainian turns the Russian foreign intelligence service (SVR), accusing it today, Monday (23/1) of storing weapons provided to it by the West in nuclear power plants across the country.

The Russians did not provide evidence and Reuters was unable to confirm these claims.

The SVR said in a statement that US-supplied HIMARS rocket launchers, air defense systems and artillery ammunition were delivered to the Rivne nuclear power plant in northwestern Ukraine.

“Ukrainian Armed Forces Store Western-Supplied Weapons and Ammunition in Nuclear Plant Area” he pointed out as reported by the Athens News Agency and added that a shipment of weapons was delivered to the Rivne nuclear power plant in the last week of December.

Asked about this information, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it shows how important it is to maintain dialogue with the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

However, Peskov pointed out that there are currently no plans for a meeting between IAEA chief Rafael Grossi and President Vladimir Purin.

Ukraine’s nuclear power plants have been in the spotlight since the start of the war. Russian forces seized the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant less than 48 hours after Russian troops invaded and also seized the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant – the largest in Europe – early in the war.

Both Kyiv and Moscow accuse the other side of shelling Zaporizhia, and Ukraine maintains that Russia uses the facility as a de facto weapons depot.

The IAEA has expressed serious concerns about the attacks near the station, warning of the risk of a nuclear disaster.