Ukraine's Zelenskyy says 'serious threat' remains at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

President claims that Russia is ready to 'provoke a local explosion'

Rescuers and police officers attend an anti-radiation drill in case of an emergency situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed on Saturday that a “serious threat” remained at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and said Moscow was “technically ready to provoke” a blast at the facility.

Mr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian intelligence was the source of his information.

“There is a serious threat because Russia is technically ready to provoke a local explosion at the station, which could lead to a (radiation) release,” Mr Zelenskyy told a joint news conference in Kyiv with visiting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

He gave no further details. Ukrainian military intelligence has said Russian troops had mined the plant.

Mr Zelenskyy called for greater international attention to the situation at the site in southeastern Ukraine, which is Europe's largest nuclear plant. He also urged sanctions on Russia's state nuclear company Rosatom.

Mr Sanchez said that by visiting the Ukrainian capital as Spain kicks off the six-month rotating EU presidency, he wanted to underscore his support for Ukraine.

Spain would provide an additional €55 million ($60 million) financial package for Ukraine to help the economy and small businesses, he said.

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, located near the city of Enerhodar, has been occupied by Russia since March last year, shortly after the invasion began

Russia has denied Kyiv's accusations that it was preparing an explosion at the plant. Kyiv and Moscow have accused each other of shelling it.

Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union, suffered the world's worst nuclear accident in 1986, when clouds of radioactive material spread across much of Europe after an explosion and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.