XPost: alt.politics, uk.politics.misc, alt.war.nuclear
XPost: soc.culture.ukraine

If they do, they'll probably blame it on the
Ukrainians as a "false-flag operation."... ----------------------------------------------------
Ukraine: Putin has told his troops to create a ‘man-made catastrophe’ at Chernobyl

Ukrainian intel says false-flag operation to be carried out by Russian operatives and Belarusian specialists sent to facility after communications
cut

AP
12 March 2022, 8:57 am

Ukrainian authorities are claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin has directed his troops who have taken over the Chernobyl nuclear reactor to “create a man-made catastrophe” at the site, media outlets reported on Saturday citing the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.

The order appeared to be part of what the US is saying will be a “false flag” used by Russia to escalate its fighting in Ukraine and even employ chemical weapons, the ministry’s Intelligence Directorate indicated Friday.

Ukraine’s intelligence services said that the “man-made catastrophe” will be
carried out by Russian operatives who entered the compound on Friday with a group of specialists sent by Belarus.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has downplayed Ukrainian panic over the Russian takeover but is trying to negotiate a solution between the sides.

The IAEA said on Friday it was informed by Ukraine that technicians have started repairing damaged power lines at Chernobyl in an effort to restore power supplies.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian authorities said that Chernobyl, the site of the
1986 nuclear disaster, was knocked off the power grid, with emergency generators supplying backup power.

The Ukrainian nuclear regulator said Friday that workers repaired one
section of the lines, but there was damage in other places, the IAEA said. Repair efforts would continue despite “the difficult situation” outside the plant, which was taken by Russian forces early in the invasion, it said.

The Ukrainian regulator said additional fuel was delivered for generators,
but it remains important to fix the power lines as soon as possible. The
IAEA reiterated that the disconnection “will not have a critical impact on essential safety functions at the site.”

The Vienna-based UN nuclear watchdog said that it still isn’t receiving data from monitoring systems installed to monitor nuclear material and activities
at Chernobyl, but transmission from the Zaporizhzhia plant — Ukraine’s biggest, which Russian forces seized last week — has been restored after being lost earlier this week.

https://tinyurl.com/ykcdwdmb

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