Ukraine's Foreign Ministry today rejected a claim by a Russian representative that Ukraine is planning attacks on its own dams, for to blame Russia for them, reported Reuters, quoted by BTA.
Kiev described the statement as a new intimidation tactic.
"The real purpose of such statements by Moscow is to intimidate Ukrainian society and mislead the international community and the media," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
"There can be no realistic purpose or motive for Ukraine to destroy its own infrastructure or endanger its own people. As for "putting the blame on Russia", the Russian regime is doing a good job in this regard with its war crimes," the Ukrainian ministry pointed out.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier that Ukraine plans to destroy two dams in "another cynical provocation against Russia".
Zakharova, who did not provide any evidence for her claims, said Ukraine was "preparing to destroy" the hydropower dam "Kiev" on the Dnieper River near the capital and the "Kaniv" dam along the river.
Last year, the Kakhovka Dam, further down the Dnieper, was destroyed, flooding large areas in southern Ukraine and causing extensive damage.
At the time, the dam was under the control of Russian forces, and Ukraine accused them of blowing it up. Russia rejected the accusation and said that Ukraine was responsible.