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The Kremlin has threatened to launch direct missile strikes on nuclear power plants in the West and Ukraine in revenge for any attacks on Russian sites.
The sinister warning comes as Moscow is accused of concocting an allegation that Ukraine struck its Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant with a fibre-optic drone, which Kyiv denies.
The power plant, which stands as one of Europe's largest, sits in south eastern Ukraine in Putin-occupied territory.
Senior Russian official Dmitry Medvedev - a former Kremlin president and premier - said it was obvious that "in the event of the catastrophic destruction of a nuclear power plant's turbine hall or reactor hall, a new Chernobyl will ensue".
He added: "The response to such actions could be a symmetrical strike against Ukrainian NPPs [nuclear power plants], as well as against NPPs in NATO countries involved in the conflict."
Alexei Likhachev, head of Russian atomic energy corporation Rosatom, also accused Ukraine of attacking Zaporizhzhia's 6th power unit.
"This is the first targeted attack on the main equipment of a nuclear power plant in history, with a through-penetration and damage to the machine room building, he said. What's next? Attacks directly on the turbine? The reactor hall? The reactor and safety systems?
Ukraine strongly refuted the allegations, stating: Ukrainian Defence Forces DID NOT strike the No. 6 power unit of the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant. It added that the accusation is another attempt to discredit Ukraine and hide their own criminal actions".
Kyiv does not control territory close enough to the power plant to use a fibre-option controlled drone in the vicinity.
A statement said: Systematic manipulations around issues of nuclear safety are integral parts of the policy of nuclear terrorism, which Russia is pursuing against Ukraine and the international community.
The statement insisted Ukraine acts exclusively within the framework of the norms of international humanitarian law and are aware of the consequences of any actions regarding nuclear facilities.
Russia deliberately does not show high-quality photos and video frames of the alleged consequences of the strike.
Earlier, Medvedev - now Putins deputy on the Russian security council - produced an AI-generated video to warn the West of Russian drone attacks, featuring Keir Starmer.
This followed a Russian Shahed drone striking a residential high rise building inside NATO state Romania.
Let them get ready: this will continue to happen. There is a war, said Medvedev, who blamed Ukraine and the West over a strike in Starobelsk [Starobilsk], in occupied Luhansk region, which killed 21 students.
Just like the the terrorist strike in Starobelsk, the blood is on the hands of scumbags like Ursula [von der Leyen], [Friedrich] Merz, [Emmanuel] Macron, [Sir Keir] Starmer, and all the other repugnant parasites. So theyd better get used to it. This wont be the last time.
The video was laced with images of Russian nuclear missiles. Polish premier Donald Tusk urged the West to take the threats seriously from Putins mouthpiece Medvedev, stressing the number of countries encroached by Russian drones is growing.
Poland, the Baltic states, and now Romania - more and more Russian provocations, he said. Medvedev declared that the peaceful slumber of EU citizens is over. Everyone in NATO must finally start taking these facts and these words seriously.
Overnight, Ukraine staged a major drone attack on an oil refinery in Saratov with photos showing the large facility ablaze after the strike.
Another strike triggered an inferno at the Matveev-Kurgan oil depot, close to the Ukrainian border.
And a Transneft oil-pipeline pumping station in Kirov region was engulfed in fire early today as Ukraine continues a campaign to clobber Russian petrol and diesel supplies.
Explosions were also heard in Urals industrial city Chelyabinsk, more than 1,000 miles from the nearest Ukrainian-controlled territory.
Russia hit Ukrainian city Rivne with a large column of black smoke rising at the impact site.
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