THE Russia wants to stop her channeling to Ukraine of energy produced by the Zaporizhia nuclear power plantthe largest in Europe, occupied by the Russian army, unless Kyiv pays Moscow for the electricity generatedsaid a deputy prime minister, Marat Husnulin.
These statements are in line with those of other Russian officials in recent weeks, which suggest that Russia is preparing for an ongoing occupationif not an annexation of the zones of southern Ukraine that it has brought under its control, the Kherson region and a significant part of that of Zaporizhia.
«If Ukraine’s energy system is ready to pay, then (the station) will be able to work for Ukraine. If (Ukraine) does not accept, then (the station) will work for Russia“, Said the Husnulinduring a visit today to the site of the nuclear facility, according to Russian news agencies.
«We have a lot of experience from nuclear power plants, we have companies in Russia that have this experience, there is no doubt that (that of Zaporizhia) will continue to operate“, he said.
THE Ukrainian nuclear service Energoatom stated this morning that the station was still supplying electricity to Ukraine.
In 2021, ie before the Russian attack on Ukraine that started on February 24, 2022, the station accounted for 20% of annual production electricity in Ukraine and 47% of that generated by the Ukrainian nuclear park.
Moscow forces took control of the station in the southern Ukrainian city of Enerkhodar in early March, which separates the Dnieper River from the regional capital of Zaporizhia, which is still under Ukrainian control.
The clashes that took place there during the first days of the war raised fears of a possible nuclear disaster in the country where a reactor exploded in 1986 at Chernobyl.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Husnulin also said that Russia was there to stay, implying that annexation was an option.
«I believe that the future of this region is to work within the framework of the friendly Russian family. That’s why I came here, to help the most in the integration“, he said.
Russian officials and pro-Russian authorities, appointed by Moscow, also said last week that the Kherson region would likely be annexed to Russia.
Russia’s control of the Sea of ​​Azov (Kherson, Zaporizhia and Donetsk), including the port of Mariupol, allows the creation of a land ‘bridge’ connecting Russian territory with the Crimean peninsula, which it annexed in 2014.
At the start of the Russian offensive, Russian President Vladimir Putin had said that Russia was not going to occupy Ukrainian territory.
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