DISINFO: Ukraine must be forced to stop shelling Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant
SUMMARY
The US and the EU must end irresponsible games and intrigues around the Zaporizhzhya atomic power plant and force Ukraine to stop shelling it and the adjacent territories.
RESPONSE
No evidence is provided to back the claims being made. The recurring claim that Ukraine carries out false flag attacks is designed to deflect blame for the war atrocities away from its real perpetrators.
The Ukrainian authorities denied the shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP) and accused Russia of dangerous actions that may cause a nuclear catastrophe.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) warns about the risk of Russia's militarisation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP. According to recent data, Russia mined the territory of the plant and placed its military armaments near nuclear reactors and nuclear waste storage facilities.
A video shared by Russian opposition outlet The Insider shows that Russian military vehicles move in and around the plant, some of them (including armored vehicles) moved into the building containing the first of the plant’s six nuclear reactors. Besides this, Russian forces dug trenches and establish firing positions.
EU High Representative Josep Borrell condemned Russia’s military activities there and labelled them as a serious and irresponsible breach of nuclear safety rules and another example of Russia’s disregard for international norms.
US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, accused Russia of using the plant as a nuclear shield. “Of course, the Ukrainians cannot fire back lest there be a terrible accident involving the nuclear plant,” he said. Russian forces likely use the territory of the plant to shell the Ukrainian-controlled town of Nikopol across the river.
In its recent statement, the Foreign Ministers of the G7 stated that "it is Russia’s continued control of the plant that endangers the region" and demanded Russia to hand back full control over the plant as well as other occupied nuclear facilities to Ukraine.
Russia has been blaming Ukraine for the alleged shelling of the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP for weeks. Russian forces likely use the territory of the NPP to shell the Ukrainian-controlled town of Nikopol across the river.
See more disinformation narratives on "Nazis in Ukraine" and war crimes. For background see: disinformation targeting Ukraine.