The Russian military has provided new details on the botched Ukrainian raid on the Zaporozhye nuclear plant
Kiev forces wanted to seize the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant in a daring military raid and use the personnel of the UN nuclear watchdog as “human shields” to maintain control over the facility, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed on Thursday.
The botched raid came shortly before a team of experts with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – including the organization’s head, Rafael Grossi – arrived at the plant for an inspection. According to the Russian military, multiple Ukrainian “saboteur groups” crossed the Kakhovka Reservoir in speedboats and barges near the plant early in the morning, but were intercepted and destroyed by Russian troops and National Guard forces.
“Obviously, if the operation of the Kiev regime to seize the station was a success, the head of the IAEA, [Rafael] Grossi, and the experts of the mission would become a ‘human shield’ for Ukrainian saboteurs to prevent any attempts to destroy them by the Russian armed forces,” the Russian MoD said in a statement.
The operation aimed at capturing the nuclear power plant appears to have been “planned in advance by Zelensky’s regime,” the Russian military suggested. Moreover, the delay in Grossi’s visit to the installation, originally planned for August 31, stemmed from the Ukrainians’ need for more time to get ready for that “military provocation,” it alleged.
The ultimate goal of the operation was seizing control of the plant, while the presence of the IAEA team would have allowed the “saboteurs” to not only take cover from any potential Russian actions, but also to cement the new “status quo,” the military said. The success of the operation would have likely been reinforced by a “new wave of loud statements from Washington and European capitals, calling upon Russia to establish a ‘demilitarized zone’ around the nuclear plant, with IAEA observers guarded by Ukrainian troops,” it asserted.
“In this regard, we fully understand the complete silence of all Western sponsors of the Zelensky regime, which de-facto confirms their tacit participation in the preparation of today’s provocation at the Zaporozhye plant,” the military concluded.
I understand the objective. My problem is I can’t believe how the people behind this plan actually thought it could work. Seriously, they must fantasise that Russians are blind drunks who sleep late, or some other sort of delusional thinking.
They are hoping that there will be enough traitors in the upper parts of the command chain
Psychological projection! Everyone and everything in Ukraine is for sale, they assume Russia is the same. But, that hasn’t been true in years, patriotism has been quietly coming back. If someone did take a bribe, they would have done it under guidance from the FSB.
Agree. It’s the Ukronazis who’re blind drunks, sleep late, and are interminably deluded.
I think it is very simple…. They believe their own BS.
they grossly underestimate Vlad & Co. past 22 yrs..and now you have results of action of those dummies…..no they not 007…
The idiotically planned “counter-offensive” in Kherson makes sense now – a distraction from the attack on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant.
You think russian army would let IAEA mission in the powerplant if it was taken by Ukraine? I doubt they would. They would just send them back for safety reasons. Of course it would be major PR disaster, plant employees as hostages, they could barricade themselves in some sensitive area where you shouldn’t shoot and throw grenades. Who knows how long it would take to get rid of them. But I still can’t imagine scenario in which IAEA would become hostage. Even if they arrived day before Russians would simply evacuate them, unless they are lost with no coms or intentionally hide to get captured.
I remain a little skeptical. Surely, the purpose behind the propaganda is an attempt to show the Ukrainians as a peaceful lot who don’t use human shields and are worried about the Russians being in control of a nuclear facility. Attacking a nuclear plant and the damage which would inevitably occur with the world watching is the opposite of the propaganda intended. The control of a nuclear power plant in the hands of an army containing Neo-Nazi militias is a frightening prospect.
The British were hoping a nuclear “incident” (as opposed to a nuclear hollocaust) would invoke Article 5 of the NATO charter. Obviously they are still under some demented illusion they can win a war against Russia.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/west-considers-applying-natos-article-104818313.html
Tobias Ellwood, Chair of the Defence Select Committee at the House of Commons of the UK Parliament, has stated that if the Russians orchestrate a deliberate accident at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant with radiation outflow, it must be treated as an attack on NATO states.
“Let’s make it clear now: ANY deliberate damage causing potential radiation leak to a Ukrainian nuclear reactor would be a breach of NATO’s Article 5.”
His stance was backed by Adam Kinzinger, a member of the House of Representatives of the US Congress from Illinois.
“That’s 100% true. Not even discussed. Any leak will kill people in NATO countries, this is an automatic inclusion of Art. 5,” he tweeted.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jul/13/tobias-ellwood-home-attacked-after-tory-mp-ran-over-local-cat
https://www.stalkerzone.org/the-shelling-of-the-zaporozhye-nuclear-power-plant-who-exactly-lost-their-mind/
Yes, you’re right about Article 5, but behind it all I’m sure western intelligence agencies and NATO aren’t listening to propaganda but know where these attacks are coming from. To me, the slowness of the advance was always going to be viewed as a sign of weakness and would only encourage NATO to react. Somehow, I can’t see Russia allowing NATO troops in to guard the nuclear facility and gain a toe hold in the Ukraine, which I suspect what this is all about.
Week by week I’m getting more apprehensive as to where all this will end. At the rate this is going, energy problems may well turn out to be the least of our problems!
So since the IAEA inspectors have confirmed that Ukraine has been attacking the NPP, NATO should invoke Article 5 against Ukraine… except that’s not how it works
Ukrainians need some success. So they try anything, reasonable or not. Today in the Slovenian MSM the problem are only Russian journalists and no foreign at the powerplant. Nothing about attack. But this story can’t go on for ever. They must win somewhere and this was an opportunity. But they failed. As it looks Russian inteligence isn’t that bad as Bellingcat writes.
No wonder the operation was a big fat flop with perfidious Albion at the helm. Perhaps Britain should be called incidious Albion?
Larry Johnson:
https://sonar21.com/ukraines-western-backed-gamble-to-capture-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-power-plant-backfires%ef%bf%bc/
The Ukrainian troops selected to carry out this operation clearly had advanced training. Some sources report that the **** British did the training and MI-6 had the lead in planning the operation.**** The CIA’s role appears to have been providing support on the information warfare front (i.e., getting Ignatius to tee up an article). Ukrainian sources are privately bitching that someone leaked the op to the Russians. It was an elaborate ambush. These are troops Ukraine could not afford to lose. There was a substantial investment in time and money to train them for this mission. I estimate at least two months were devoted to the training and equipping of these two attack elements.
IAEA chef Grossi said at the Davos May25 meet. This is literally explosive :
https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/iaea-grossi-at-davos-nuclear-power-climate-change-and-ukraine
“Mr Grossi added that the IAEA is seeking to visit Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station, under occupation by Russian forces, to verify that the 30,000 kg of plutonium and 40,000 kg of enriched uranium stored there have not been deviated for other uses.”
Who enriched this fissile material, where did it come from?
The RF got to ZNPP day 2 of the SMO. Hmmm – I wonder where that 70 tons ($300 billion worth) now is?
IAEA want a permanent presence at ZNPP. Maybe Kiev/NATO is desperate? Anyway why did IAEA only admit this in May 2022 – is it in on the game, like the OSCE, UN, WHO…
I would not be surprised to learn the UN and IAEA leadership (if not all the inspectors) were in full knowledge of the nefarious plans and operations and carefully coordinated their arrival at the plant.
I just don’t understand why the Russians continue to allow the Ukrainians to fire at the nuclear power plant. Can’t they send a couple of Kalibers in the general direction of the unit doing the shelling???