Budanov: Russians mine cooler at ZNPP

Russians have mined the cooler at Zaporizhzhia NPP. If it is disabled, there is a significant possibility that there will be big problems.

The head of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) Kyrylo Budanov said this during the United News telethon, Ukrinform reports.

Answering the question whether there is a threat of an accident at ZNPP, he clarified that, unfortunately, there is a certain threat as of now.

Read also: Ukrainian intelligence: What Russians do with ZNPP is nuclear blackmail

"First of all, ZNPP was and still is under the temporary control of the occupation forces. The truth is that by destroying the dam, they destroyed the normal access of water to the coolers operating at ZNPP. Second, the plant was additionally mined. The worst thing is that it was the cooler that was mined," DIU's head said.

According to the head of military intelligence, if Russians disable the cooler by blowing it up, there is a high probability that there will be significant problems.

He also would not link this ZNPP's situation to U.S. President Joe Biden's statement on Russians' use of nuclear weapons.

Read also: IAEA’s Grossi calls on Russians not to turn ZNPP into military base

"Personally, I wouldn't link them. I believe that these factors are not connected in any way. We are talking about different things here: the risk of using nuclear weapons and an artificial man-made disaster," he said.

As reported, DIU said that Russia continues its nuclear blackmail tactics, using the occupied ZNPP and the territory of Belarus, where Russian nuclear weapons could be deployed.