MOSCOW

The Russian Atomic Corporation (Rosatom) informed the UN's nuclear watchdog on Saturday about Ukraine's alleged plans to carry out a provocation, involving two nuclear power plants and subsequently accuse Moscow of doing it.

Head of Rosatom Alexey Likhachev called the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi to inform him that according to Russian intelligence, Ukraine wants to strike Kursk and Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plants (NPP), the corporation's press service said in a statement.

"There was information about the planned provocation by the armed forces of Ukraine in relation to these nuclear power plants. Over the past day, the number of messages and signals about the preparation of this provocation has increased many times," he said.

Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed Kyiv wants to hit the spent nuclear fuel storage of the Kursk region, accusing Russia of "self-shelling," and then do the same with the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, presenting it as Moscow's "retaliatory strike."

Likhachev also told Grossi that on Aug. 17 a Ukrainian drone dropped explosives onto a road that is regularly used by the Zaporizhzhia NPP staff, while on Aug. 14, another drone attack damaged the area of an open switchgear.

The deterioration of the situation near nuclear power plants poses a direct threat, and also undermines the postulates of the IAEA on nuclear safety, Likhachev stressed.

He invited Grossi to visit the Kursk NPP and the city of Kurchatov to personally assess the situation.