By Lucas Leiroz, journalist, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, geopolitical consultant.
The Ukrainian government is repeatedly telling lies about the attacks on the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (ZNPP). The president of the regime made new unproven accusations against the Russian side about sabotage of the ZNPP, ignoring that it is his own troops that have been promoting terror in the area of the plant. As expected, the western media reports the neo-Nazi leader’s words as if they were true, leading the public opinion to believe that Moscow is deliberately trying to generate radioactive leakage in Zaporozhye.
On the night of July 4, the Ukrainian head of state published on his social networks an alarming message about alleged information he had received from his intelligence sources on a Russian operation to place „objects resembling explosives“ on the roof of the ZNPP’s facilities. According to him, this would be part of a plan to blow up the units and generate a nuclear accident.
Zelensky also claimed that the world is supposedly aware that Moscow is the „only source of danger“ to the ZNPP. According to the president, trying to stop Russia is a responsibility of the entire world, since the effects of radiation would be harmful to everyone. On the occasion, he once again unfoundedly accused Russia of having carried out the attack against the Novaya Kakhovka dam, even regretting the fact that he had not been able to „respond“ to the alleged maneuver.
„Now we have information from our intelligence that the Russian military has placed objects resembling explosives on the roof of several power units of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. (…) In any case, the world sees (…) that the only source of danger to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is Russia and no one else. Unfortunately, there was no timely and large-scale response to the terrorist attack on the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant. And this may incite the Kremlin to commit new evil. It is the responsibility of everyone in the world to stop it, no one can stand aside, as radiation affects everyone“, Zelensky said.
To corroborate Zelensky’s narrative, the Ukrainian authorities began to publish out-of-context images showing people supposedly shopping in supermarkets to stock up on food in their homes in the face of an eventual lockdown for radioactive reasons. Earlier, Kiev had launched a training program in its occupation zones to teach civilians how to deal with a nuclear tragedy.
Obviously, this is not the first time Zelensky has made this kind of accusation. Since last year, Kiev has considered Moscow responsible for all the attacks that take place at the plant. On the other hand, Russia makes it clear that it has no intention of destroying the ZNPP’s facilities, even taking public initiatives to show the world that it is the Ukrainian troops who sabotage the place.
For example, it was Moscow, not Kiev, that invited a team of international experts to the region last year, showing that Russians are not afraid of the truth about what happens there. In addition, the Russian troops also provided security to the foreign experts since Ukrainian soldiers allegedly tried to capture them to make “human shields”.
The problem is that Western media do not act honestly when reporting these cases, irresponsibly repeating the words of Ukrainian officials, even though they are evidently unrealistic. In the days following Zelensky’s „nuclear risk“ statement, Western newspapers helped to intensify global fears of a nuclear catastrophe by spreading the lying reports and even interviewing several biased, pro-Kiev „analysts“ to give credibility to the Ukrainian narrative.
For example, CNN interviewed experts to explain „how catastrophic Russian attack on nuclear plant would be“ and how they are supposedly „worried“ about it. In the same sense, according to the New York Times, the alleged Russian sabotage at the ZNPP would be the result of „despair“ on the part of Moscow in the face of the Ukrainian „counteroffensive“.
Interestingly, the western media ignored official reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) denying Ukrainian claims and stating that no “visible indications of mines or explosives” have been observed at the ZNPP.
Indeed, these Ukrainian accusations and the Western disinformation campaign on the topic only help to spread chaos, fear and anti-Russian hysteria around the world. Kiev has been trying for a long time to destroy the ZNPP’s facilities and now it may be closer to generating a nuclear leak, as the recent attack on Kakhovka affected the flow of water that supplies the plant’s reactors.
The regime believes that it could profit from a nuclear tragedy, as it hopes that this will “justify” a NATO intervention – or at least an exponential increase in the supply of heavy weapons to neo-Nazi forces in order for them to continue their aggression against Russia.
Now, Kiev is stepping up its alarmist propaganda about the plant because it hopes to be close to achieve the goal of creating a disaster. But Russian authorities continue to monitor the situation and are ready to act in time to avoid the worst scenario, even if that means escalating the attacks against Kiev to higher levels.