KYIV: Ukraine has urged its citizens not to panic or store iodine tablets after President Zelensky alleged that Moscow planned to organize a radiation leak at an occupied nuclear plant.
Earlier, President Zelensky said Russian troops controlling Zaporizhzhia — Europe’s major nuclear plant – were plotting a “terror attack” by orchestrating a radioactivity leak.
Kyiv Warns Against ‘Panic’ After Alleged Nuclear Hazard
Moscow said it was a “lie,” but Zelensky’s warning put many people in Ukraine on high alert and sent demand for iodine at many drugstores skyrocketing.
The Ukrainian health ministry said on Thursday, “Read and share but don’t panic! Don’t play the enemy’s game. Zelensky said nothing new,”. It added, “Russia is a terrorist state from which you can expect anything.”
In a separate message on Friday, the health ministry warned against the adverse effects of imperfectly administering iodine, saying that it could even be deadly. Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said that they were monitoring the situation. In a statement via social media, he said that specialists were ready for different scenarios.
AFP reported that there were no signs of panic buying in Kyiv on Friday but demand for the iodine tablets has increased.
Fears for the nuclear plant have persisted throughout Russia’s invasion and have increased since the destruction of a dam that supplied the plant with cooling water.
United Nations nuclear head Rafael Grossi also met the chief of Russia’s nuclear agency Rosatom on Friday in Kaliningrad, but there were no announced breakthroughs from the talks.
