The threat of some kind of Ukrainian sabotage of the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine is big and measures are being taken to counter such a threat, the Kremlin said on Wednesday (July 5), Reuters reports.
Ukraine and Russia on Tuesday accused each other of plotting to stage an attack on Europe's biggest nuclear power facility.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters the consequences of such sabotage could be catastrophic.
"The situation is quite tense because there is indeed a great threat of sabotage by the Kyiv regime, which could be catastrophic in its consequences," he said.
"The Kyiv regime has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to do anything. Therefore, all measures are being taken to counter such a threat."
He did not present evidence to back his assertion about the Ukrainian threat.
Russian troops took control of the Zaporizhzhia plant last year soon after embarking on what Moscow calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine.
Each side has since regularly accused the other of shelling around the plant and of risking a major nuclear incident.
The Kremlin also said it could not confirm a Financial Times report that Chinese President Xi Jinping had personally warned Russian President Vladimir Putin against using nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
The FT, citing unidentified Western and Chinese officials, reported that Xi warned Putin at a face-to-face meeting in March against using nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
Peskov, when asked if he could confirm the FT report, said: "No, I can't confirm it," adding that the two countries had issued considerable detail in statements at the time on the content of their talks.
"The essence of the negotiations was clearly stated in the documents adopted following the statement, so there is a lot of information. Everything else is fiction."
The FT cited people close to the Kremlin as saying that Putin had independently decided using tactical nuclear weapons would not give Russia an advantage in Ukraine.
The FT cited the people close to the Kremlin as saying that a nuclear strike was likely to turn areas that Putin has claimed for Russia into an irradiated wasteland while doing little to help his forces advance.
