Ukraine planning nuclear provocation on Friday – Moscow

Kiev is set on attacking the Zaporozhye power plant during a visit by the UN's top official, the Russian military claims

Ukraine plans to carry out artillery strikes on the Russia-controlled Zaporozhye nuclear power plant on Friday, and then accuse Moscow of causing a disaster at the site, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

The predicted attack will be timed to coincide with the ongoing visit to Ukraine by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Moscow insisted.

An official said they had detected the movements of Ukrainian troops, indicating a looming “provocation.”

Kiev has deployed units trained in responding to the use of weapons of mass destruction, pre-positioning them to report a radiation leak and demonstrate a purported action to mitigate it, Russian military spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.

The ministry said it expects a Ukrainian artillery unit to attack the plant on Friday from the city of Nikopol. “The blame for the consequences [of the strike] will be attributed to the Russian armed forces,” the statement said.

In a separate statement on Thursday, Igor Kirillov, who heads Russia’s Nuclear Biological and Chemical Defense Troops, said his directorate has modeled possible scenarios for a disaster at the Zaporozhye plant. A plume of radioactive materials from the site may reach Poland, Slovakia and Germany, he warned.

Russia has accused Ukraine of conducting frequent drone and artillery strikes against the nuclear power plant in the city of Energodar over the past few weeks. Kiev has denied responsibility and said Russian forces were attacking the plant to discredit Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have also claimed that Russia is using the Zaporozhye facility as a military base.

During the briefing, Konashenkov denied Ukrainian claims that Russia has deployed heavy weapons at the Zaporozhye plant and is attacking Ukrainian troops from the site. The only Russian troops at the facility are lightly armed guards providing physical security, the official said.

The ministry pledged to do its best to prevent damage to the nuclear facility.

https://www.rt.com/russia/561073-provocation-nuclear-power-plant/

Italian FM accuses Moscow of election meddling

Luigi Di Maio pointed at former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev’s use of social media

Italy’s foreign minister Luigi Di Maio has accused Russia of attempting to meddle in its upcoming September 25 snap elections, after former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called on EU citizens to vote out “moronic” politicians.

On Thursday, Di Maio slammed what he called the “interference of the Russian government in the Italian elections,” describing it as “truly worrying.” He said Medvedev had given a “clear instruction on how to vote” and called on Italian political forces to “distance themselves from Russian propaganda.”

The foreign minister’s statement came hours after Medvedev, now deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, published a post on his Telegram channel calling on the people of the bloc to make their dissatisfaction with their “moronic” leaders known in the voting booth.

Citing unspecified polls, Medvedev said EU residents “have not lost common sense” and “more than half” of them are against breaking off ties with Russia. Europeans want normal relations, energy in their homes, markets for their products, successful trade and tourists in museums and cafes, he argued.

Medvedev also called on EU citizenry to punish and “call to account” their politicians for their “obvious stupidity.” He added that Europeans do not want to be asked to pay out of their own pockets to punish Russia, which “hasn’t harmed any EU citizen in any way with its operation in Ukraine.”

“Take action, European neighbors! Don’t keep silent!” the former president urged, concluding the post with a warning that “in the winter, it’s much warmer and comfortable in Russia’s company.”

Di Maio assured Italians that the government in Rome is working to “diversify the sources of our gas supplies” to become less dependent on Russia, which he said was “funding the bloody war in Ukraine” with Italian money.

https://www.rt.com/news/561116-italian-foreign-minister-russia-election-meddling/