DISINFO: Kyiv prepares to carry out an attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS

AI translations:

DISINFO: Kyiv prepares to carry out an attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

SUMMARY

Ukraine intends to attack the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, located in the city of Enerhodar.

The fact that additional radiation measuring devices have been installed in Kyiv and in several regions of Ukraine proves that the Ukrainian authorities are preparing to carry out another attack.

RESPONSE

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about false flag operations. Such claims are a part of a broader pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign accompanying the full scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, trying to place the blame on Ukraine.

Pro-Kremlin outlets have been doing the same with the Kakhovka damn. Repeating disinformation messages not backed by any evidence as if they were established facts while introducing minor variations is a frequent pro-Kremlin disinformation technique.

On the 1st of July Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that a "serious threat" remained at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and said Russia was "technically ready" to provoke a localised explosion at the facility.

He called for greater international attention to the situation at the nuclear plant in southeastern Ukraine, which is Europe’s largest.

Zelenskyy cited Ukrainian intelligence as the source of his information.

"There is a serious threat because Russia is technically ready to provoke a local explosion at the station, which could lead to a (radiation) release," Zelenskyy told a news conference alongside visiting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

It is Russia who is making irresponsible hints and statements about the possibility of using nuclear arms in its war against Ukraine. For several years now the Russian infosphere has seen nuclear threats being made against the west by public figures like Dmitry Kiselyov or Vladimir Zhirinovsky. Since beginning of 2022 and the full invasion, Russian officials having made such statements include Dmitry MedvedevRamzan KadyrovMargarita Simonyan or even Vladimir Putin who specified that “it was not a bluff”.

Read similar cases claiming that Russian withdrew from Kherson because Ukraine wants to blow up the Kakhovka dam, that West needs provocations to accuse the Russian military of using chemical, biological or nuclear weapons in Ukraine, Ukrainian militants are shelling the nuclear station in Zaporizhzhia and that Ukraine wants to blow up the Kakhovka dam to block water supply to Crimea.

Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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