Russia doesn’t have to launch nuclear missiles to cause a fallout or catastrophe, it would just need to strike one of Ukraine’s three remaining online nuclear power plants.
The World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations (WFUWO) is raising the alarm as winter draws near Ukraine’s battered energy facilities once again become the focal point of Russian aerial bombardment that could plunge the war-ravaged country into darkness and leave it freezing.
Citing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the country’s national security chief, Oleksandr Lytvynenko, the WFUWO voiced concern that Russia will also target areas near Ukraine’s three remaining nuclear power stations that are in operation.
“As winter draws near, European leaders should issue strong warnings to Moscow to not even think about destroying Ukraine’s remaining energy infrastructure or shelling anywhere near Ukraine’s three [operating] nuclear power stations, two of which are located close to EU borders,” the WFUWO said in a statement.
Zelenskyy, during his speech at the UN General Assembly on Sept. 25, alerted the world to the imminent threat of a potential nuclear catastrophe in Ukraine this winter.
He noted that Russia has already destroyed or damaged much of Ukraine’s thermal and hydroelectric power facilities and warned that, according to Ukrainian intelligence, Moscow plans to attack infrastructure surrounding Ukrainian nuclear power plants, aiming to disconnect them from the national energy grid.
The continued assault on the energy grid is part of Russia’s brutal strategy “of having Ukraine’s people freeze and starve this winter, to inflict horrific suffering, thereby forcing surrender,” the WFUWO said.
Zelenskyy also raised a more ominous concern: Russian projectiles targeting electrical transformers near nuclear power plants could strike directly at the facilities themselves, the group’s statement says.
Most vulnerable to attacks is the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in the southern part of the country.
The safety of this Russian-occupied site is precarious, not only due to threats from drones and missiles but also because of systemic stress that significantly increases the risk of cooling system failures, as previously noted by Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“As Western leaders worry about Russia’s potential use of tactical nuclear weapons against Europe, the WFUWO would like to underscore the obvious: Moscow does not need to deploy tactical nuclear missiles to cause a nuclear catastrophe,” the organization said, implying that Ukraine’s nuclear sites can be struck instead.
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