Russia wants an emergency shutdown of Ukrainian nuclear power plants. To do this, the Kremlin seeks to establish possible informational conditions for attacks on nuclear power plants.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on February 19 that Ukrainian officials were allegedly planning attacks under a false flag. However, this is a complete lie.
What is known about the cynical plans of the Kremlin
The Russian department spoke of Ukraine allegedly planning attacks on its radiation-hazardous facilities in order to allegedly “accuse Russian troops of delivering indiscriminate strikes” on these facilities in violation of the Convention on Nuclear Safety before the 11th emergency special session of the UN General Assembly on February 22.< /p>
The Russian Ministry of Defense may launch an information operation aimed at creating information conditions for such strikes and possible radiation incidents that may arise as a result of a systematic blackout of facilities. ISW said.
Analysts at the American Institute for the Study of War also note that:
- attacks called for by Russian propagandists are unlikely to lead to radiological incidents, and an attack near nuclear power plants always carries some risk of such incidents;
- Previous Russian attacks on critical infrastructure in Ukraine do not indicate that Russian forces systematically attack the electrical infrastructure associated specifically with the nuclear power plant.
The aforementioned statements by the Russian Ministry of Defense may also be an attempt to create information conditions for a potential radiological incident at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in light of reports that Russia's draining of the Kakhovka Reservoir could jeopardize the ZNPP cooling system.
What is known about the new threat from the Russians
- The invaders opened the floodgates on the Kakhovka reservoir. After that, the water level in December 2022 fell to the lowest level in the last 30 years of satellite observations.
- Deputy head of the Zaporizhia OVA Gennady Timchenko said that the level of 13.2 meters is the minimum for water intake into the cooling reservoir. If the water supply is stopped, problems will begin with the cooling of the reactors, which will lead to a disaster at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.
- Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmigal noted that massive missile strikes on power facilities did not give the Russians the desired result, so now the enemies have taken for water supply. Smihal called on the international community to respond quickly and decisively to the actions of the occupiers, because this could have serious environmental consequences.
