DISINFO: Ukraine is preparing a provocation at Zaporizhzhia similar to the one in Bucha
SUMMARY
Ukraine’s provocative actions at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant have started. For the first time in history, missiles were launched at such an unprecedented object. Ukraine’s desperate political establishment are pushing perpetrators to commit a war crime. Some high-ranking Ukrainian politicians will leave the country but individuals in lower state positions will be held responsible. The possible provocation at Zaporizhzhya NPP reminds of Ukraine’s provocation in Bucha.
RESPONSE
This article falsely accuses Ukraine of shelling the Zaporizhzhia NPP and promotes disinformation about staged atrocities in the Ukrainian town of Bucha.
Pro-Kremlin media presented atrocities committed by Russian forces in Bucha as a Ukrainian provocation, set-up to unleash World War III, a coordinated attack by the Western media, a distraction from “US biological laboratories” in Ukraine, and a British plot. As explained in our analysis, this was one of many attempts to distract and obfuscate the facts of war crimes.
Russia has been blaming Ukraine for the alleged shelling of the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP for weeks but no evidence is provided to back these claims.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) warns about the risk of Russia's militarisation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP. According to recent data, Russia mined the territory of the plant and placed its military armaments near nuclear reactors and nuclear waste storage facilities.
A video shared by Russian opposition outlet The Insider shows that Russian military vehicles move in and around the plant, some of them (including armored vehicles) moved into the building containing the first of the plant’s six nuclear reactors. Besides this, Russian forces dug trenches and establish firing positions.
EU High Representative Josep Borrell condemned Russia’s military activities there and labelled them as a serious and irresponsible breach of nuclear safety rules and another example of Russia’s disregard for international norms.
In its recent statement, the Foreign Ministers of the G7 stated that "it is Russia’s continued control of the plant that endangers the region" and demanded Russia to hand back full control over the plant as well as other occupied nuclear facilities to Ukraine.
See earlier disinformation cases alleging that Ukrainian forces want to destroy Zaporizhzhya NPP, that Kyiv's accusations of killings in Bucha are a provocation, and that the images of dead bodies in Bucha may be a diversion of attention from US biolabs in Ukraine.
Technical remark: This disinformation was broadcast via Sputnik on 18 August 2022. Due to the EU decision to restrict the spread and dissemination of RT and Sputnik inside the EU, access to the link may not work inside the EU.