Ukraine accuses Russia of upcoming 'large-scale provocation' at nuclear plant

Ukraine is accusing Russia of plotting a "large-scale provocation" at a nuclear plant it controls, claiming that Russia plans to falsely claim a radiation leak in an attempt to pause hostilities so it can regroup and re-arm itself.

Ukrainian intelligence said the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is the largest in Europe, is the Russian target, but offered no evidence to back up the claims.

Kyiv claimed in a statement that Russia “disrupted the rotation of personnel of the permanent monitoring mission” of the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency that was scheduled for Saturday, but the IAEA would not comment on the claim.

There was no other evidence to suggest that what Ukraine said was true.

Russia has made numerous similar claims about Ukraine without offering evidence and subsequently accusing Ukraine of war crimes.

The Zaporizhzhia plant's reactors have been shut down for months, but it still needs to be operated at a basic level. Fighting near the plant has stoked fears of a Chernobyl-like catastrophe for some time now.