Nuclear plant burns-Putin prepares response

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Sources from Ukraine indicate that thousands of soldiers have been sent into the attack in the Kursk region of Russia. At the same time, amazing images show a fire ​​​​at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), about 400 kilometers south of Kursk.

A Ukrainian security official said AFP that the aim of this attack is to destabilize Russia and expand the Russian defense lines with a quick and mobile attack. However, it is not yet clear how long this operation can last, especially with threats from the Kremlin that intends to deploy reserve forces to repel the attack.

Russia previously said hundreds of Ukrainian troops launched a surprise attack on Tuesday, but a Ukrainian official said the number was much larger. When asked if more than 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers were involved, the official replied, “The number is much higher… thousands.”

The operation reportedly involved several Ukrainian armed forces, which managed to catch Russia by surprise by striking a weak defense sector that had not seen much combat since the spring of 2022. Ukraine managed to -into Russia’s limited border defenses.

“We are attacking. The goal is to expand the enemy’s position, cause the greatest loss, and destabilize the situation in Russia because they cannot defend their own borders,” said the security official on condition of anonymity, as reported by The KeeperMonday (12/8/2024).

On Sunday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed that Russian soldiers appeared to have started a fire in one of the cooling towers at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which they have taken control of. since the war started.

“Radiation levels are still within normal limits,” Zelensky said, accusing Russia of using control over the nuclear power plant, which is currently in shutdown mode, “to blackout” on Ukraine, the rest of Europe and the world.”

A Ukrainian official in Nikopol, the closest town across the Dnipro river from the nuclear power plant, said that according to “unofficial information,” the fire was caused by the burning of a large number of car tires in cooling tower.

Images and videos showed thick smoke rising from one of the towers, although experts said the tower was not in use while the reactor was in shutdown mode, prompting speculation that this may have been an attempt to depressurize the reactor. construction of Ukraine’s attack on Russia.

Sunday night, news agency TASS The Russian state agency reported that the Russian nuclear power company, Rosatom, confirmed that the main fire had been extinguished.

There is speculation that Ukraine could try to seize the Russian nuclear power plant at Kurchatov, near Kursk, but the site is more than 50 kilometers from the current fighting, so it is believed not it doesn’t seem like Kyiv’s forces got that far.

The Ukrainian government and military have not said much so far about the reason for this attack. It is believed that this attack is intended to reduce pressure on the eastern Donbas front, where Russian forces continue to advance.

The attack was also seen as proof to Russia and Ukraine’s Western allies that Kyiv was still capable of launching a successful attack.

The Russian Defense Ministry said it had stopped attacks by Ukrainian “mobile groups” on three towns north and east of Korenevo-Tolpino, Zhuravli, Obshchiy Kolodez – all 25 to 30 kilometers from the border, so far the Moscow’s longest point. be accomplished in the attack.

The pro-Ukrainian Telegram channel released a video showing Ukrainian soldiers raising a flag on a building in the small Russian town of Guevo, which is several kilometers inside the border and seven kilometers south of Sudzha, one of the first towns to be arrive in the attack.

On Saturday, Zelensky directly acknowledged the attack in Kursk oblast – the first time regular Kyiv forces have attacked Russian territory since the Kremlin was fully annexed in February 2022.

“Today, I received several reports from the CEO [Oleskandr] Syrskyi regarding the front line and what we did to bring the war to the land of the aggressor,” he said on Saturday afternoon.

Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, accused Kyiv of engaging in “terrorist acts” aimed at terrorizing ordinary Russian citizens.

“They fully understand that this barbaric act makes no sense from a military point of view, but they continue to try to fulfill the loans given by their masters,” said e.

Fifteen people were injured in Kursk, the acting regional governor, Alexei Smirnov, said after missile debris hit an apartment building. Zakharova said that Ukrainian forces had launched a “massive missile attack” on the city and that one of the missiles had managed to evade the defenses, causing casualties.

The Russian military appears to be banking on the Kursk defense with a combination of limited border guards, elements from other regional forces, and those “relocated from less priority front areas in Ukraine,” according to an analysis from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

ISW said leadership of efforts to end the Ukrainian attacks may have been transferred to Russia’s internal security agency, the FSB, after the Kremlin announced on Friday that it was an “anti-terrorist operation” ‘ in the answer. Russian federal law requires the military to be under the command of the head of counter-terrorism operations, according to the think tank.

Meanwhile, a missile attack overnight near Kyiv killed a man and his four-year-old son, emergency services said. Explosions were heard late Saturday in central and eastern Kyiv after the Ukrainian air force said two Russian missiles were headed for the city.

(luck/luck)

Russia launches the biggest attack, the energy system of Ukraine is paralyzed