by Lorenzo Cremonesi
The Russians accuse: Attack on the nuclear power plant. The Ukrainians deny and rely on Kherson. Chechnya leader Kadyrov resigns?
FROM OUR SEND
ODESSA – There is no respite at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, where the smoke of the propaganda war is now being added to the bombs more intensely than before. Moscow’s accusations against the enemy military commanders for launching a new attack with marine infantry from the waters of the Dnieper came yesterday with the decision of the occupying authorities to disconnect the power plant from the Ukrainian power grid.
It is worth noting that the shutdown of electricity production at Europe’s most powerful nuclear power plant is condemned by Kyiv as another act of Russian piracy (up to February 24, Zaporizhia supplied a fifth of the national energy) and instead is supported by Moscow as a step important for the total annexation of the conquered territories. The cut had already happened for a few hours for the first time on August 25 and had caused serious problems for housing construction in the occupied territories: now it is not clear whether it will be final and only affect the network controlled by the Ukrainians, although the case is already gearing up for some time, at best exploiting the four power plants they still own. One thing seems certain: the hope that the presence of UN observers at the plant will deter bombs has turned out to be illusory. By Tuesday, Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s delegation, who visited the plant last Thursday and left behind a permanent crew of two commissioners, is due to release an initial report. As for the safety of the plant, Grossi explains that the reserve lines connected to a local thermal power plant provide the energy to cool the reactors and prevent accidents.
The Russians say they decided to cut the net after the Ukrainians intensified their attacks on the area. Russian Defense Ministry spokesmen are providing extensive details on the operation of 250 Ukrainian leatherheads who are said to have launched against the plant on Friday evening aboard 42 speedboats. The Blitz would have failed thanks to the immediate intervention of the Russian Air Force, which would have killed at least 42 enemies. A flop was preceded, again according to Moscow, by a very similar raid. Unofficially, the Ukrainian military argues that these are mere fantasies concocted from scratch by the Russians to hide the failures. It should be noted that since the beginning of the new operational phase of the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Kherson region, south-east of Zaporizhia, the Kiev commanders have decided to limit comments on the war situation.
Meanwhile, note should be taken of the cryptic words of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who spoke of his possible resignation from command in a video broadcast on Telegram. No confirmation of true intentions: it could be an opportunity to increase the price compared to Moscow.
In this uncertain situation, Recep Tayyip Erdogan returned to propose himself as a mediator in a long phone call with Vladimir Putin. Turkey’s president had scored a major win when he authorized the withdrawal of Ukrainian wheat from the Black Sea on July 22, but Putin didn’t like his stance against Russia’s occupation of Crimea at all.
September 3, 2022 (change September 3, 2022 | 22:50)
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