Shelling resumes near Ukraine nuclear plant, despite risks

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By YURAS KARMANAU

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia resumed shelling in the vicinity of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, a local official said Wednesday, a day after the U.N. atomic watchdog agency pressed for the warring sides to carve out a safe zone there to protect against a possible catastrophe.

The city of Nikopol, located on the opposite bank of the Dnieper River from Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, was fired on with rockets and heavy artillery, regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko said.

The reports of nearby shelling, which couldn’t be independently verified, have caused international alarm. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, warned the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that “something very, very catastrophic could take place” at Zaporizhzhia.

“There are fires, blackouts and other things at the (plant) that force us to prepare the local population for the consequences of the nuclear danger,” Reznichenko said.



FILE - This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant occupied by Russian forces, in Ukraine on Aug. 28, 2022. Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant , built during the Soviet era and one of the 10 biggest in the world, has been engulfed by fighting between Russian and Ukrainian troops in recent weeks, fueling concerns of a nuclear catastrophe. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-d12ded8c3d79fe6f2a062546e5ced95b?utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=TopNews&utm_campaign=position_3

[thucythucy]

1. Putin may see bringing on a full scale nuclear disaster

as the only way to avoid a humiliating defeat.

Breech the reactors, contaminate hundreds if not thousands of square miles, then withdraw his defeated and dispirited troops claiming it's being done to save their lives.

Not to mention, like all narcissists--Trump included--there is no doubt an element of "if I can't have it, no one can." Rather than simply withdraw and acknowledge his monumental blunder in launching this war, he may well see this as a way of punishing the people of Ukraine--and Europe--for thwarting his divine will.

[IronLionZion]

2. Russia is fine with Ukraine facing the risks of nuclear disaster