Russia military gear was discovered in a turbine hall of Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant, within steps from from one of the reactors, according to a shocking video that appears to have been captured inside the facility.
Overnight, footage emerged of what seems to be the interior of a turbogenerator hall at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power facility, with at least five Russian military trucks parked inside next to a stack of crates.
While it is unclear from the film precisely what the vehicles are doing there, their camouflage green paint and ‘Z’ combat insignia indicate that they are probably likely being utilized by the Russian military.
The video is the most convincing evidence to date to support Ukrainian claims that Russia is storing explosives and other military hardware near nuclear reactors, risking a catastrophe that could blanket Europe in radioactive ash.
If the video was captured in a turbogenerator hall, which appears plausible given the gear shown in the camera, then the trucks are less than 100 feet away from a reactor, placing it at risk in the case of an accident.
Overnight, Ukraine warned that Russia might be preparing a’major provocation’ at Zaporizhzhia today, telling its workers not to report to work and releasing a scary graphic depicting the extent of the devastation in the case of a catastrophe. According to data from the Ukrainian hydrometeorological institution, the heaviest fallout would be centered within Ukraine, namely in the central areas.
But harmful particles would also be carried across Europe, covering NATO allies Poland, the Baltic states, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Moldova.
Significant amounts of radiation would also fly across the border into Russia and land on Belarus, a key ally.
The concerns came as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Volodymyr Zelensky in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv to discuss, among other things, the safety of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station.
On his first visit to Ukraine since the outbreak of hostilities, President Erdogan stated that he is “worried” about the situation there and added, “We don’t want another Chernobyl.”
Guterres, who has demanded that independent UN inspectors be granted access to the plant to ensure its safety, stated that any attack on the facility would be tantamount to “suicide.”
He stated, “We must tell it like it is: any possible harm to Zaporizhzhia is suicidal.”
There is a high likelihood of a large-scale terrorist attack at the nuclear facility, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence, which cited the presence of a large number of weapons on the nuclear plant’s property as well as repeated provocative shelling.
Zaporizhzhia, which contains six nuclear reactors, is the largest nuclear plant in Europe and accounts for roughly one-fifth of Ukraine’s annual energy consumption.
It is situated on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River, which divides Ukraine in two, near to Crimea.
Since the beginning of the conflict, when forces seized control following a brief but terrifying fighting that put an administration building on fire, the territory has been controlled by Russia.
The situation has been tense but steady for several months, but has escalated in recent weeks as Ukraine strives to drive Russia out of the south.
Multiple explosions have been recorded around the location, with both Russia and Ukraine blaming the other of responsibility.
Kyiv asserts that Russia has converted the facility into a military installation by placing explosives around the reactors to protect them from attack.
Ukraine adds that Moscow’s forces are attempting to isolate the power plant from the main electrical system and reroute the energy to the seized region of Crimea.
They claim that this is risky because disconnecting the station from the main grid will force its reactor cooling system to run on diesel generators, which have limited power.
In addition, they accuse Russian troops of causing explosions in the vicinity of the plant as part of a “false flag” operation that they can blame on Ukraine.
According to Ukraine’s nuclear regulator, the Russian commander in control of the facility has instructed his soldiers to be prepared to detonate it if Ukraine attempts to retake it.
Moscow has dismissed these claims, stating that the Ukrainians are the ones bombing the facility in an attempt to blame Russia for any repercussions.
Zelensky has asked the United Nations to secure the plant’s security while also condemning Russia for ‘deliberate’ attacks on the facility.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg described Russia’s takeover of the facility as a “serious threat” and demanded a Russian pullout and inspections by the UN’s nuclear watchdog.
Thursday, emergency personnel in Zaporizhzhia, a city that shares its name with the facility but is 30 miles distant and under Ukrainian authority, began practicing their reaction to a crisis at the plant.
Volunteers masquerading as irradiated patients were hosed down by men and women wearing full-body protection suites, gas masks, gloves, and rubber boots.
They were also transported on gurneys through a supermarket parking lot and into a medical tent on stretchers connected to a conveyor belt.
In the case of a nuclear meltdown at the Zaporizhizhya facility, the parking lot would serve as a receiving center for thousands of people trapped in the early fallout.
Russia is over six months into a conflict in Ukraine that was expected to last only a few days in order to overthrow the government and establish a puppet administration in Kyiv.
It has failed to achieve this objective, as well as the more modest ambition of seizing the whole eastern Donbas region.
Luhansk, one of the two provinces that comprise the Donbas, is now under Russian control, although Donetsk has only been seized in part.
Putin’s forces have conquered the city of Mariupol, the whole Azov Sea coastline, and have created a ‘land bridge’ between occupied Donbas and occupied Crimea in southern Ukraine, which may be Russia’s greatest military victory to date.
To reverse these advantages, Ukraine has declared a strong counter-offensive in the south, with the objective of recapturing Kherson, a strategically significant city on the Dnipro River, and finally driving the Russians out of Crimea.
Ukraine has thus far been successful in severing Russian supply lines by destroying bridges and rail lines, and has also attacked two airfields in Crimea, limiting Russia’s capacity to offer air support for its forces.
However, Kyiv’s forces have struggled to recapture any major area, while Russia has strengthened its defensive positions to make them more difficult to conquer.
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