Russia ‘plotting provocation at nuclear power station to delay counteroffensive’

The IAEA said it did not have any immediate comment on the allegations and Russian officials did not immediately comment on the Ukrainian claims

Ukraine’s military intelligence says Russia is plotting a “large-scale provocation” at a nuclear power station it occupies in the south-east of the country to disrupt a looming counteroffensive (Leo Correa/AP)

Ukraine’s military intelligence says Russia is plotting a “large-scale provocation” at a nuclear power station it occupies in the south-east of the country to disrupt a looming counteroffensive.

A statement from the intelligence directorate of Ukraine’s Defence Ministry claimed Russian forces will strike the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the biggest in Europe, and report a radioactive leak in order to trigger an international probe that would pause the hostilities and give them the respite they need to regroup.