At least a hundred broken windows, and a two meter deep crater. Those are the tracks that remain, 300 meters from the nearest reactor at Pivdennoukrainsk. Ukraine’s second largest nuclear power plant was hit by a rocket on the night of Monday. The Ukrainian nuclear power company Energoatom says Russia is behind it. Russian authorities have so far not commented on the matter. – Fortunately, no one was injured, Energoatom writes in a statement. They also state that the reactors at the facility continue to operate. The three reactors supply around 10 percent of Ukraine with electricity outside of wartime. Lieutenant Colonel Geir Hågen Karlsen certainly thinks the attack is worrying. – This is because even if the rocket does not hit the reactor itself, it can, for example, hit completely necessary external systems such as power supply and cooling, or the storage for radioactive waste, he says to news. Around 100 windows on various extensions to the nuclear power plant were broken after the rocket attack. Photo: ENERGOATOM STATE COMPANY / Reuters The crater created by the rocket attack is around two meters across. Photo: ENERGOATOM STATE COMPANY / Reuters A policeman stands at the bottom of the crater to show the extent. Photo: ENERGOATOM STATE COMPANY / Reuters This satellite image shows Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear power plant in May 2022. Photo: Planet Labs PBC / AP This is how the nuclear power plant looks normally, pictured in 2016. Photo: ENERGOATOM STATE COMPANY / Reuters – Shows how few tools Russia has left Both American and British intelligence have warned that Russia will step up attacks against civilian targets. They claim that this shows how hard pressed Russian forces are after the Ukrainian counter-offensive. Tormod Heier, professor at the Norwegian Defense College. Tormod Heier at the Norwegian Defense College agrees. – This shows how few tools the Russian defense now has left. They have shown themselves to be vulnerable, and these are structural weaknesses that will take a long time to correct, he says. He believes there are two purposes for the Russians’ new strategy: – Firstly, it can show the Russian public that the military is still active in Ukraine. Secondly, the attacks can be demoralizing for the Ukrainian population and a form of blackmail for the Ukrainian leadership. Russian authorities have previously said they do not deliberately attack civilian targets. INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF WAR AND AEI’S CRITICAL THREATS PROJECT / news (19.09.2022)Graphic: INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF WAR AND AEI’S CRITICAL THREATS PROJECT / news (19.09.2022) INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF WAR AND AEI’S CRITICAL THREATS PROJECT / news (19.09.2022) Graphics: INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF WAR AND AEI’S CRITICAL THREATS PROJECT / news (19.09.2022) More attacks on civilian facilities Recently, several important civilian power plants have been hit by rocket attacks. On Wednesday last week, a dam outside President Zelenskyi’s hometown of Kyrvyi Rih was also hit. It caused the river Inhulets to rise by 2.5 metres. Several hundred houses were flooded, and thousands lost access to drinking water. In addition, there has been uncertainty surrounding Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant, Zaporizhzhya, for a long time. Both Russia and Ukraine blame each other for a series of rocket attacks against the facility. Pictures from the IAEA show that Russia has stationed soldiers and military vehicles inside the power plant. – It is simply unacceptable. It’s playing with fire. This could end in disaster, said IAEA chief Rafael Grossi after the report on the situation in Zaporizhzhya came out.
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Here the rocket almost hits the nuclear power plant – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
