KYIV, Ukraine — Following a string of Ukrainian military successes in the south, the Kremlin sought on Monday to tamp down speculation that Russian forces would withdraw from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear complex, with President Vladimir V. Putin’s spokesman saying that Moscow has no plans to end its military occupation of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.
“One should not look for signs where there are none and cannot be any,” Dmitri S.Peskov, the spokesperson for the organization, stated this.
Mr. Peskov’s comments came after some pro-Russian military bloggers wrote posts suggesting that Moscow’s forces would withdraw from After Ukrainian officials stated that there were indications of a war in the region, Russia Taking steps to leave the facility.
Russian forces took the Zaporizhzhia facility shortly after they invaded Ukraine in February. They also stationed troops there. A withdrawal from The plant would be another setback for Russian forces within a region Mr. Putin is trying to annexe illegally.
Petro Kotin was the Ukrainian president of Energoatom state nuclear energy firm, and stated on Sunday that there were indications that Russian troops are present. “packing and stealing whatever they can find” At the Zaporizhzhia Complex, he stated that there was no evidence that troops had started to withdraw.
Recent victories by Ukrainian forces in southern Ukraine include retaking Kherson, the capital of Ukraine on Nov. 11, and a number of other victories. Military analysts however stated that there was no immediate sign that they were threatening. Russia’s grip on the plant, which lies on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River, about 100 miles northeast of Kherson.
Instead, they should be called reports from Russian military bloggers — a hawkish and pro-invasion group — suggest concerns about Moscow’s ability to hold the plant and could be an attempt to “prepare the information space for an eventual Russian withdrawal” from Zaporizhzhia is the Institute for the Study of War. This research group tracks the conflict. wrote in its daily analysis on Sunday.
The nuclear plant — which provided 20 percent of Ukraine’s electricity before the war — has careened from Since March 4, when Russian forces seize the facility, it has been in constant crisis. It has been repeatedly shelled and has had to cycle down all its reactors in safety measures. from Numerous times, the Ukrainian power grid was struck by Russian soldiers. It had to use diesel generators to cool critical functions. Russian soldiers have been accused of robbing and abusing the Ukrainian personnel who run the plant. Witnesses claim that the Russian forces also laid mines near the plant.
After a team inspection from the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, visited the plant in September, the head of the agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi, called for the creation of a demilitarized safe zone around the facility to reduce the risk of a nuclear catastrophe.
Representatives of the United States and European Union have also supported the proposal. Russia The idea was rejected by the Foreign Ministry, which recently said that it would “make the power plant even more vulnerable.”
Mr. Grossi said that he had discussed his concerns with both Mr. Putin and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, telling CBS News’ “60 Minutes” Last week: “Until we have this plant protected, the possibility of the nuclear catastrophe is there.”
On Nov. 20th, more than ten explosions rocked the plant. Energoatom claimed that the blasts were caused by Russian troops and targeted infrastructure needed for electricity production in Ukraine. Russia Ukraine was blamed for the destruction of the plant.
Repeated waves of Russian missile assaults on Ukraine’s energy grid infrastructure have resulted in widespread and prolonged power outages in nearly every corner of the country. Millions of people now live in sweeping, but controlled blackouts that last for long periods of time.
Last week, a wave of Russian missile strikes forced all four of the country’s nuclear power plants offline for the first time in Ukraine’s history. Since then, the power plants have been reconnected to outside power.
