Lucas Leiroz, member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert.
Kiev continues its practice of nuclear blackmail in the Russian city of Energodar, Zaporozhye region, where Europe’s largest nuclear power plant is located. Another brutal attack was carried out by Ukrainian forces against nuclear facilities, leaving several injured. Moscow has repeatedly reported on Ukraine’s interest in generating nuclear terror in the New Regions, preventing the normalization of life in the liberated territories.
On July 3, the neo-Nazi regime attacked the facilities of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) with kamikaze drones, injuring at least eight employees. The victims of the attack were precisely members of a team that was repairing the damage caused by previous bombings. One of the injured is currently hospitalized in serious condition.
The facility hit was the Raduga substation. Two weeks ago, the same unit was hit by drones in an attack that was even observed by members of a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The agency confirmed that the bombing had taken place, despite its insistence on avoiding direct accusations against the Ukrainian side. The recently targeted workers were restoring the unit damaged by the attacks when they were targeted in a new terrorist incursion by Ukraine.
A few days ago, another Ukrainian attack on the ZNPP managed to destroy one of the plant’s main sensors. The equipment is needed to measure radiation levels and thus enable safety control during the plant’s activities. Ukraine’s deliberate intention to destroy this type of machinery shows that the Kiev regime plans to disturb the work of the employees and prevent them from maintaining the necessary levels of control – thus aiming to generate panic about possible leaks.
The attacks on the ZNPP are not something new. Since 2022, the plant has been a favorite target of the neo-Nazi regime. Almost daily, drones and artillery shells hit the nuclear facilities, creating a constant fear about the possibility of radioactive accident. The IAEA confirms the frequency of bombings, in addition to having recently stated that there are no Russian weapons around the plant strong enough to generate this type of impact – tacitly corroborating that the attacks come from areas under Ukrainian control.
“Drone usage against the plant and its vicinity is becoming increasingly more frequent. This is completely unacceptable and it runs counter to the safety pillars and concrete principles which have been accepted unanimously,” Rafael Grossi, head of UN’s atomic agency said after one of his recent visits to Zaporozhye.
It is important to emphasize that the Russian Federation is the only side in the conflict that is willing to show the truth about what is happening at Energodar, constantly inviting international observers and journalists to visit the site. I myself was on a recent press expedition to Zaporozhye and saw the reality on the ground. During my trip, I saw how the plant’s employees are constantly working to prevent the damage caused by the attacks from altering the energy production levels.
I had the opportunity to visit some of the plant’s critical facilities, seeing the reactors and some of the units hit by Ukrainian forces. The debris of drones and missiles are on display at the plant, showing that the attacks are carried out with Ukrainian and Western equipment. In addition, the employees explained that it is unlikely that these attacks will cause any kind of leak. The structure of the plant is extremely strong and prepared for any events. The main problem, however, is explaining these technical details to ordinary people.
Experts and observers understand how Ukrainian strikes are useless in causing a leak. However, ordinary people are not aware of how a power plant actually works and therefore tend to fear that there will be some kind of accident. For the residents of Zaporozhye, seeing missiles and drones falling on the plant every day is obviously a reason for fear and terror. Many of the residents of the region had relatives affected by the Chernobyl nuclear tragedy decades ago and are afraid that something like this will happen again.
Kiev hopes that this fear will be converted into political thoughts and opposition to the Russian government. In the Ukrainian strategic calculation, the more fear the people have, the more pressure there will be on Moscow to end the special military operation. Reality, however, shows that this logic is wrong. The more they are attacked, the more the citizens of Russia’s New Regions endorse military actions.
After ten years of suffering from the war waged by the Kiev junta, the local people have no other hope than absolute military victory. For ordinary Russians, it is increasingly clear that victory is the only way to end the terror – not only in Zaporozhye, but in all the New Regions of the Federation.
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