Russia-Ukraine war: Moscow may have put explosives on roof of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Ukraine warns

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, is seen in the background of the shallow Kakhovka Reservoir after the dam collapse, in Energodar, Russian-occupied Ukraine. Photo / AP

Ukraine has warned that Russia may have placed explosives on the roof of Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Moscow may be planning to detonate them while blaming Ukrainian shelling for the damage.

The claim about explosives had earlier been made by the Ukrainian army, which warned of “possible preparation of a provocation on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia power plant in the near future”.

Zelenskyy said that he warned French President Emmanuel Macron about “occupation troops preparing dangerous provocations” at the plant during a phone call on Tuesday.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron about Russian troops' "dangerous provocations". Photo / AP

In Moscow, an adviser to Russia’s Rosatom nuclear agency, Renat Karchaa, accused Kyiv of planning an attack on the plant overnight.

Kyiv and Moscow have regularly accused each other of putting the plant’s safety at risk since the outbreak of the war.

Chinese President Xi Jinping personally warned Vladimir Putin against using nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

The message was delivered face-to-face during Xi’s state visit to Moscow in March, sources told the Financial Times.

Chinese officials have since privately taken credit for convincing the Russian leader to back down from his veiled threats of using a nuclear weapon in Ukraine, sources added.

The personal warning from the Chinese leader indicates that Beijing harbours concerns about Russia’s war even as it offers tacit backing to the Kremlin, western and Chinese officials said.

Ukrainian emergency workers wearing radiation protection suits attend training in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, last month. The nuclear power plant relies in large part on water from the emptying reservoir at the Kakhovka dam. The six reactors have been shut down for months but still need water for cooling. Photo / AP

One senior Chinese government adviser said that the war threatens to scupper the nation’s efforts to drive a wedge between Europe and the US, and a Russian nuclear strike on Ukraine or one of its EU allies would risk turning the whole continent against China.

Zelenskyy’s chief of staff has said that China’s position in the face of a potential nuclear threat from Russia was “important”.

Andriy Yermak posted a screenshot of an article from the Financial Times about President Xi Jinping’s reported warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin against a nuclear attack in Ukraine, and said: “(This is) an important position of (China) regarding the nuclear threat from the insane Russian terrorist.”