President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia is using Chinese satellites to photograph nuclear power plants in Ukraine as part of preparations to potentially strike them.
Zelensky stated this in an interview with ABC News, Ukrinform reports.
“The recent information is that, Russia has been using Chinese satellites and taking photos of the details of the objects on nuclear facilities. And in our experience, if Russia takes photos of certain objects, then there is a threat of strikes against the nuclear objects,” the Ukrainian President said.
He did not specify whether the Chinese satellites used by Russia were commercial or controlled by the Chinese government. However, he added that he would share the information that Ukraine has with leaders who can influence Russia calling it “nuclear terror.”
The media resource noted that if the information is confirmed, the use of Chinese satellites to photograph Ukrainian nuclear power plants would be another example of Russia turning to China for assistance in the war. It would also raise questions about strength of Russia’s own satellite capabilities.
Some experts believe that Russia is unlikely to directly target nuclear power plant reactors. “Russia has thus far not struck Ukraine’s nuclear reactors directly, and is unlikely to do so in the future. However, it can and has extensively struck the transformer substations that deliver energy to the nuclear power plants and distribute power from the reactors to the rest of the country. Not only do such attacks prevent the distribution of energy from the remaining unoccupied reactors to the rest of the grid, but they also pose a serious nuclear safety risk,” wrote Jack Watling and Darya Dolzikova in a report by British defense think tank the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) published this month.
As reported by Ukrinform, President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed with the heads of leading American energy, financial and insurance companies preparation of the Ukrainian energy system for winter.
Source: Zelensky: Russia using Chinese satellites to photograph Ukraine's NPPs to prepare attacks
