DISINFO: Ukrainian military wanted to use IAEA official as human shields to retake the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
SUMMARY
Just before their visit of the IAEA, however, Ukrainian artillery targeted the town of Energodar and the nuclear power plant itself, while a group of commandos crossed the Kakhovka reservoir by boat and attempted to storm the facility. Both the initial attack group and the reinforcements that followed were destroyed by the National Guard and attack helicopters. Their aim was to seize the Russian-held plant and use IAEA personnel as human shields to maintain control over the facility. Ukrainian officials have also claimed that the Russian army is using the plant as a military base, stationing heavy weapons there. Moscow has denied the allegations, saying only lightly armed guards protect the facility.
RESPONSE
A recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about Ukraine attacking the Zaporizhzhia power plant. The claim was neither counterbalanced nor critically challenged in the article. A new element is the claim that Ukrainian forces tried to use the mission of the IAEA as human shield to retake the power plant.
No evidence was provided to back the claim that Ukraine is shelling the Zaporizhzhia power plant. In fact, there has been an increasing number of reports that Russia uses the nuclear site as a so-called “sheltered” artillery park, "using the facilities to fire on Ukrainian positions in the belief that Ukraine would not fire back and risk a nuclear accident".
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.
The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, accused Russia of using the plant as a nuclear shield. “Of course the Ukrainians cannot fire back lest there be a terrible accident involving the nuclear plant,” he said. Russian forces likely use the territory of the plant to shell the Ukrainian-controlled town of Nikopol across the river.
Additionally, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) warns about the risk of Russia's militarisation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. 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 established firing positions.
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 similar article that Ukrainian forces fired missiles at the Zaporizhzhia station and Russian defences repels them; Ukraine shells nuclear plant to deploy international peacekeeping forces; Ukrainian militants are shelling the nuclear station in Zaporizhzhia; IAEA president warns of nuclear catastrophe after Kyiv shells Zaporizhzhia; Ukraine must be forced to stop shelling Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant; Russia has not attacked the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.