Russian troops may blow up the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in southern occupied Ukraine, which could trigger a nuclear disaster, according to Ukraine’s armed forces.
The ZNPP, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, seized Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces shortly after the invasion of Ukraine began in February.
There have been fears for some time that the site could revel in a nuclear meltdown, either as a result of an accidental fight or planned sabotage.
On Thursday, Brigadier General Oleksiy Gromov of the Ukrainian army’s General Staff warned that Russian troops could bomb it and then blame Ukraine for any further disasters.
According to the Ukrainian newspaper Ukrainska Pravda, Gromov said an attack is imaginable because of the “lack of humanity” of the Russian military and the “pathological lies of all politicians and propagandists in the Kremlin. “
Gromov continued: “It is very likely that the enemy’s retreat will turn into a series of terrorist attacks with the detonation of residential areas, the transformation of temporarily occupied territories into scorched earth, with the task of causing critical damage to infrastructure.
“In view of the most recent leaks of data from the Russian Federation regarding the filthy bomb, it is also not excluded that the occupiers organize detonations in the ZNPP, with the aim of putting it out of use and provoking a local – it made a mess, accusing Ukraine of this. “
Over the past week, senior Russian officials have continuously accused Ukraine of planning to use a “dirty bomb,” which combines explosives with radioactive nuclear material. The claim was rejected by Western officials, raising fears that Moscow is setting the stage for a false flag. attack.
Over the weekend, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu phoned his American, British and French counterparts to inform them of the alleged plot.
In response, Washington, London and Paris issued a joint rejection of “Russia’s manifestly false accusations that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb on its territory. “
The three Western powers added: “The world would see through anyone using this accusation as a pretext for escalation. We also reject any pretext for escalation through Russia. “
Speaking to Newsweek, Dionis Cenusa, a threat analyst at the Center for Eastern European Studies, warned that Russia is preparing for a “hybrid operation” against Ukraine.
He said: “Russia is preparing the Western public for a false flag operation. Otherwise, Russia continues to test the West’s willingness to induce the narrative that peace negotiations may only be a way out of a chaotic escalation.
“The dangers of Kherson hydroelectric power plant dam explosion, the limited army buildup in Belarus, attacks on Ukraine’s critical force production infrastructure, as well as the ‘nuclear bomb’ narrative, will have to be considered as a combination that separately. Russia is preparing a kind of hybrid operation against Ukraine. “
The Russian Foreign Ministry was contacted for comment.
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