Kiev, Ukraine (AFP) –
The Ukrainian Security Service announced on Saturday that former President Petro Poroshenko was prevented from leaving Ukraine to attend a planned meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Poroshenko announced on Friday that he was being turned away at the border despite previously obtaining permission from parliament to leave the country. under Military lawUkrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 are not allowed to leave the country without special approval.
58 years old, who He lost his re-election bid In 2019, current Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he planned to meet with US House Speaker Mike Johnson and the Polish parliament during his trip.
But security officials said Poroshenko also agreed to meet Orban, who has previously praised Russian President Vladimir Putin. Refused to support Kyiv’s bid to join the European Union. Such talks would make Poroshenko “a tool in the hands of Russian special services,” they said in a statement on social media.
Poroshenko, who described his experience at the border as an “attack on unity,” has not yet commented on the claim that he plans to meet Orban.
Meanwhile, Ukraine Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant The country’s nuclear power operator said the plant was “on the verge of a nuclear and radiation accident” on Saturday after it was unable to extract power from two lines connecting it to the local power grid.
She said the plant switched to diesel generators to prevent the plant from overheating before Kiev restored power off-site.
Russia occupied the Zaporizhzhya factory in the early stages of the war. Over the past year, the station has become the focus of attention of international observers, with both Moscow and Kiev They accuse each other From bombing the plant.
In a statement on social media, Petro Kotin, head of the Ukrainian Nuclear Energy Corporation, accused Moscow of “incorrect, erroneous and often risky operation of equipment” at the site.
The Associated Press was unable to independently verify these allegations.
Officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency monitor safety procedures at the Zaporizhzhya plant, which is one of the ten largest nuclear power plants in the world.
Although the plant’s six reactors have been shut down for months, they still need power and qualified personnel to operate critical cooling systems and other safety features.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, Russia launched 11 Iranian-made Shahed drones and a guided cruise missile on Saturday night, military officials said. Ukrainian air defenses reportedly destroyed the missile and all but one of the drones.
The Russian Defense Ministry also said it shot down two Ukrainian C-200 missiles over the Sea of Azov.
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