DISINFO: UK's MI6 is training Ukrainian sabotage groups for provocations at nuclear power plants in Russia
SUMMARY
Western intelligence services trained Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups (DRG) for provocations at several Russian nuclear power plants.
In particular, UK's MI6 and the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry were developing an operation to blow up power lines connecting nuclear power plants with the national energy system of Russia.
Kyiv's plan for a terrorist attack on the Kursk region included the seizure and mining of the Kursk nuclear power plant. If this plan had been implemented, Europe would have faced an environmental and humanitarian catastrophe comparable to Chornobyl.
RESPONSE
A recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about nuclear issues and terrorism in the context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The recurring claim that Ukraine plans false flag attacks is designed to deflect blame for the war atrocities away from the real perpetrators. This narrative is part of an ongoing pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign linked to recent developments in the Ukrainian advance into Kursk Oblast in August 2024.
There are no independent confirmations that the Ukrainian Armed Forces attempted to attack the Kursk Plant or any other Russian NPP. These accusations against Ukraine aim to distract from the Kremlin’s own nuclear blackmail tactics, including threats to use tactical nuclear weapons and plans to provoke a nuclear disaster at Russian-controlled power plants.
This claim follows a series of baseless accusations related to the Kursk and Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plants. There is no credible or independently verifiable evidence supporting these claims. These fabrications are primarily aimed at inciting fear in the international community regarding Russia's nuclear facilities, as well as justifying Russia's military control over these nuclear sites.
Andrey Kovalenko, head of Ukraine's Center for Combating Disinformation, referred to Russia's actions as a 'nuclear provocation'. He emphasised that Russia continues to attempt to incite international concern over its nuclear facilities through such accusations. When these efforts proved ineffective, Putin personally intervened.
Moreover, it is Russia, not Ukraine, that has seized another country's nuclear facility and is using the Zaporizhzhia NPP to conduct hostilities against Ukraine. In April 2024, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell stressed that the drone attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant increases the risk of a nuclear accident and that Russia should withdraw from there.
Russia has adopted many reckless actions regarding this facility, including placing military equipment and troops inside its premises, using its surroundings as a base for rocket and missile attacks, and interrupting its power line. In addition, Russia rejected UN proposals to demilitarise the areas surrounding the plant, as it was deliberately waging a fear campaign about the risks of a nuclear disaster to advance its goals in Ukraine.
Read similar disinformation cases: Ukraine tried to attack Kursk NPP with a kamikaze drone; Kyiv plans to strike nuclear power plants in Zaporizhzhia and Kursk to blame Russia; Kyiv is preparing a "dirty bomb" near Zaporizhzhia and Kursk nuclear power plants; Neo-Nazis in Kyiv plan to attack the Kursk nuclear plant with the support of Western intelligence; Ukraine intends to attack the Kursk nuclear power plant; Ukraine attacks Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to blackmail Europe with a new Chornobyl; the US wants to prepare the world for a provocation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP; MI6 training Ukrainian saboteurs to attack nuclear power plants in Russia.