RTThu, 29 Aug 2024 11:13 UTC
© Tayfun Coskun/Getty ImagesFILE PHOTO: Russian deputy permanent representative to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky.
The West's "ostrich-like stance" on Kiev's "recklessness" is a threat to Europe, the Russian deputy envoy to the UN has warned
The refusal to hold Ukraine accountable for attacks on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant has emboldened Kiev to target the Kursk NPP in the same way, Russia's deputy envoy to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, has said.Speaking at a UN Security Council session in New York on Wednesday, Polyansky denounced the Western powers for failing to acknowledge the escalating Ukrainian threat to nuclear safety.
The Zaporozhye plant is located in the city of Energodar in Zaporozhye Region, Russia, which Kiev claims under its own sovereignty. Moscow has accused Ukrainian forces of targeting the city and the facility itself on multiple occasions with artillery fire and drone attacks.
An incendiary device deployed by a Ukrainian drone caused a major fire at one of its two cooling towers earlier this month, according to the plant's management.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has an observer mission at the location, has confirmed that the blaze did not start at the base of the structure and that the tower may need to be dismantled.
Russia has urged Western backers of Ukraine to use their leverage to stop attacks on the Zaporozhye site.
Polyansky said Kiev's impunity for these actions has put another nuclear power plant, in Kursk Region, in its crosshair. Ukrainian forces have shelled the plant and attempted to seize it during their incursion into the Russian region, he explained.
"This kind of recklessness, which potentially could trigger a nuclear incident with tragic consequences for the whole of Europe, is the best rebuff" to people who ignored the situation in Zaporozhye Region, Polyansky said. "This is what your unprincipled ostrich-like stance leads to."
Senior Russian officials have previously accused Kiev of engaging in "nuclear terrorism" by attacking Russian reactors. President Vladimir Putin specifically mentioned this when he stated that peace talks with Ukraine have been ruled out in the wake of the incursion into Kursk Region. He also cited Kiev's attacks on civilians as a reason that negotiations are no longer possible.
Following the incident with the Zaporozhye plant's cooling tower, the Russian Foreign Ministry warned that Ukrainian forces would target the Kursk facility, and urged the IAEA to denounce these actions.
Comment:
1) From the article:
"This kind of recklessness, which potentially could trigger a nuclear incident with tragic consequences for the whole of Europe, is the best rebuff" to people who ignored the situation in Zaporozhye Region, Polyansky said. "This is what your unprincipled ostrich-like stance leads to."
Unprincipled or is it shifting principles?
Democracy kaput: Germans want peace with Russia, but their rulers only answer to Washington and Kiev The same could be said of the leaders of several other West European countries, even if some populations support the war efforts more than others.
One advantage for the Western powers of allowing Ukraine to do what it is doing, or guiding it, since many targets near or around the nuclear powerplants are probably defined with satellite support, is that it offers the possibility to create a situation where they can claim to their own media and public that they did not know, or that Russia is to blame and therefore more military action needs to be taken.
Recall what happened during COVID? All the treatment modalities that were offered were either closed down or ignored paving the ground for a vaccine being offered as the only solution. If a similar strategy is being used by the NATO backers of Ukraine, where nothing is done to stop what could be stopped imagine what possibilities that opens up for.
2) See also:
Ukraine tried to attack Russian nuclear plant - Putin This was regarding the NPP in the Kursk region. Following an invitation from Russia, there was a visit from the IAEA which was followed by this report:
27 Aug, 2024 14:20
Kursk nuclear situation 'serious' - IAEA boss
Military action connected with Ukraine's incursion into Russia poses a threat to nuclear security, Rafael Grossi has said
Military action taking place in the vicinity of Russia's Kursk nuclear power plant poses a risk of a "nuclear incident," Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told journalists on Tuesday.
The senior official visited to the facility located in the city of Kurchatov in Kursk Region on Monday, close to where Kiev launched a large-scale incursion earlier this month. Russian officials have previously accused Ukrainian troops of targeting the facility with drones, one of which reportedly fell next to the plant's storage of spent fuel last week.
Grossi reiterated that the Kursk nuclear power plant has an older design that does not include some of the protections that a more modern nuclear facility would have. For instance, it does not have domes, which would shield its four reactors in case of a major incident, such as a plane crashing into it, he said.
The head of the UN watchdog commented on his previous comparison of the Kursk plant with the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, saying it should not be interpreted as meaning an incident at the Kursk facility would be of the same scale as the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. However, Grossi said the agency is determined to mitigate the risks.
"This conflict, this war is not the responsibility of the IAEA. What is the responsibility of the IAEA - and we are going to assume that responsibility - is to make sure that no nuclear accident takes place," he said, adding that his message would be the same everywhere.
In the end it may sound very common-sense and simple: don't attack a nuclear power plant.
Before the visit, Grossi said he was closely monitoring developments in the Russian region and that his trip would allow the IAEA to conduct an independent assessment of the plant's safety for the international community. He is scheduled to visit Ukraine next week.
"Next week" will mean in early September, and the even will probably be followed by news reports, though it is unlikely to say much more than the current article.
3) See also;
Nord Stream was 'legitimate target' for Ukraine - EU country's president
Where one finds:
If the Nord Stream sabotage "was aimed at cutting off gas and oil supplies to Europe and [the flow of] money back to Russia, then... it would be a legitimate target," Pavel, who is himself a former NATO general, said.
"Pipelines have always been and will always be targets because they have the potential to influence the conflict in one direction or the other," he added.
The Czech leader acknowledged that if Ukraine's role in the destruction of Nord Stream 1 and 2 is proven, it may "affect the willingness of countries [in the EU] to provide assistance to Ukraine" in its fight with Russia.
"On the other hand, we have no other option but to support Ukraine at this time. It is not about whether we like Ukraine or not, but about whether we want to live in a world where one country can invade another just because it is bigger and stronger," he claimed.
Is a nuclear power plant as much a strategic target as a pipeline? Judging from the absence of interest or concern among Western Governments for the shelling of such installation, that seems to be so. NATOstan very likely also has a narrative ready for publishing in case Ukraine succeeds.
Comment:
1) From the article: Unprincipled or is it shifting principles?
Democracy kaput: Germans want peace with Russia, but their rulers only answer to Washington and Kiev The same could be said of the leaders of several other West European countries, even if some populations support the war efforts more than others.
One advantage for the Western powers of allowing Ukraine to do what it is doing, or guiding it, since many targets near or around the nuclear powerplants are probably defined with satellite support, is that it offers the possibility to create a situation where they can claim to their own media and public that they did not know, or that Russia is to blame and therefore more military action needs to be taken.
Recall what happened during COVID? All the treatment modalities that were offered were either closed down or ignored paving the ground for a vaccine being offered as the only solution. If a similar strategy is being used by the NATO backers of Ukraine, where nothing is done to stop what could be stopped imagine what possibilities that opens up for.
2) See also: Ukraine tried to attack Russian nuclear plant - Putin This was regarding the NPP in the Kursk region. Following an invitation from Russia, there was a visit from the IAEA which was followed by this report: "Next week" will mean in early September, and the even will probably be followed by news reports, though it is unlikely to say much more than the current article.
3) See also; Nord Stream was 'legitimate target' for Ukraine - EU country's president
Where one finds: Is a nuclear power plant as much a strategic target as a pipeline? Judging from the absence of interest or concern among Western Governments for the shelling of such installation, that seems to be so. NATOstan very likely also has a narrative ready for publishing in case Ukraine succeeds.