Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba accuses Lavrov of spreading misinformation

New Delhi

Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba has claimed that Russia is spreading misinformation. "Russian FM Lavrov spreads disinfo by falsely alleging Ukraine wants to restore its nuclear arsenal," he said. 

He deemed it as a " cynical, blatant lie." 

"Russia who itself fires at nuclear facilities in Ukraine. Safe zones must be established around them to prevent disaster in Europe," he wrote on Twitter. 

This comes after Russia blamed the explosion on Ukrainian "saboteurs" calling it "monstrous provocation". "Last night on the territory adjacent to the power plant, an attempt was made by the Kyiv nationalist regime to carry out a monstrous provocation," Russia's defence ministry said.

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Russian forces have seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine's southeast, the regional state administration claimed on Friday. 

Intense fighting is going on between Russian and Ukrainian forces.  

On Friday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), while citing the country's regulatory authorities, said that essential equipment at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was unaffected in the incident and there was no change in radiation levels.  

Ukraine had said that the plant in its southeast was shelled overnight, the IAEA added. 

"The Ukraine regulatory authority said a fire at the site had not affected 'essential' equipment and plant personnel were taking mitigatory actions. There was no reported change in radiation levels at the plant," it said. 

This plant provides more than a fifth of total electricity generated in Ukraine. 

(With inputs from agencies)