Kyiv (Ukraine): Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed on October 2 that Ukrainian attacks destroyed a high-voltage transmission line linking the Moscow-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to Kyiv-administered areas. Days earlier, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russian shelling of severing the plant from the electricity network.

A six-reactor giant, the Zaporizhzhia plant, which is largest in Europe, sits less than 10 kilometres from the front line. It has been shut since 2022, generating none of the electricity that once supplied up to a fifth of Ukraine’s needs.

Moscow-deployed engineers have tried to restart it, so far without success. Ukraine fears Russia wants the station to supply Crimea and other occupied areas. Putin said the alleged Ukrainian strikes caused

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