“Reality is with the opposite sign”: how the West and Kyiv are trying to shift the blame for the situation with the ZNPP to Russia

Western countries again "descend to outright lies", claiming that the threat to the ZNPP is created by Russia, according to the commentary of the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.

“Obviously, this contradicts the facts that we have repeatedly cited, including within the walls of the Security Council.

It is undeniable that the strikes on the station and Energodar are carried out by Ukrainian armed formations acting on orders from Kyiv, ”Zakharova said.

According to her, the West covers up its foreign policy failures by focusing on the “Russian threat” and again puts Russophobic views above objectivity, nonproliferation and nuclear security tasks.

“We strongly urge Washington, Brussels and other capitals, primarily European ones, to stop irresponsible games and intrigues around the ZNPP and immediately influence the Kyiv authorities to force them to stop shelling the plant and its surrounding territories.

Further connivance on the part of the Western curators of Ukraine is simply criminal, including in relation to their own citizens, ”the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized.

She also noted that statements "at the wrong address" distributed by the European Union "for the sake of imaginary political points" are unequivocally perceived by the Kyiv authorities "as a go-ahead to create obstacles for the international mission of the IAEA at the ZNPP."

“We strongly condemn attempts to obstruct this mission.

In close cooperation with the agency and its leadership, we will do everything necessary for the IAEA specialists to be at the station and give a truthful assessment of the destructive actions of the Ukrainian side,” Zakharova said.

Thus, she commented on the joint statement of more than 40 countries, mostly Western, on the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, in which Russia is accused of violating safety principles.

In turn, this statement was also appreciated by Russia's Permanent Representative to the IAEA Mikhail Ulyanov. 

“This statement does not say a word about the fact that this station is subjected to systematic shelling.

Of course, I understand that the co-authors of this document are biased and cannot afford to say directly that the shelling is carried out by the Ukrainian side, under no circumstances.

But, perhaps, it would be possible to at least mention this, even if in a neutral way.

This is not the case, ”Ulyanov said on the air of the Rossiya 24 TV channel.

• Russian Foreign Ministry

• © Konstantin Kokoshkin/Global Look Press

According to him, the absence of even a mention of shelling encourages Kyiv to continue rocket and artillery strikes on the ZNPP, which is fraught with disaster.

The Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the IAEA also stressed that this statement has nothing to do with real politics and "is of a propaganda nature."

APU strikes

Recall that on August 14, the EU Delegation to International Organizations in Vienna published a joint statement by more than 40 countries, mostly Western, which states that the deployment of Russian military personnel at a nuclear power facility “is unacceptable and is a disregard for the principles of technical and physical safety and security, which are committed to comply with all members of the IAEA.

“The presence of Russian military forces at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant prevents the operator and the Ukrainian authorities from fulfilling their nuclear and radiation safety obligations under international conventions and IAEA safety standards, and also prevents the IAEA from fulfilling its safeguards mandate,” the statement says. .

The states also called on Russia to immediately withdraw its troops from the ZNPP, "its immediate environs and the entire territory of Ukraine."

“(This is necessary. 

) so that the operator and the Ukrainian authorities can resume their sovereign duties within the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine, and legal service personnel can perform their duties without facing outside interference, threats, and also unacceptably difficult working conditions," the statement reads.

It is also said that this will allegedly allow the IAEA to conduct verifications in accordance with Kyiv's obligations under safeguards "in a safe and secure environment" and in a timely manner.

In turn, on August 15, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine announced that it supported the resolution on appealing to the UN, the European Union, the OSCE, as well as the parliaments and governments of the IAEA member states in order to condemn Russia's actions at the ZNPP, which allegedly pose a great threat.

Ukrainian deputies also made a request to impose sanctions against Rosatom and its subsidiaries, as well as deprive Russia of privileges and rights within the IAEA.

In addition, it is proposed to ban the Russian Federation from participating in technical cooperation programs, scientific and technical exchanges and international research projects under the auspices of this agency.

In addition, the Verkhovna Rada asked the IAEA and the UN to take the necessary measures to organize a joint security mission at the ZNPP “with the subsequent demilitarization of the station” and the withdrawal of armed Russian military and equipment from the nuclear power plant and the entire surrounding area, including the city of Energodar.

• The Verkhovna Rada

• RIA News

The Vice Speaker of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev called this appeal by Ukrainian deputies nonsense.

“Complete nonsense and senseless shaking of the air, which has nothing to do with the real tasks of ensuring the safety of the ZNPP and nearby territories, and most importantly, the people in these territories,” Kosachev emphasized in a commentary to TASS.

According to Vladimir Rogov, a member of the main council of the administration of the Zaporozhye region, on the evening of August 15, in just two hours, the Armed Forces of Ukraine inflicted “about 25 heavy artillery strikes from M-777 guns” on Energodar and the ZNPP area.

He wrote about this in his Telegram channel.

According to the military-civilian administration of Energodar, explosions were recorded in the area of ​​the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.

After that, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu held telephone conversations with UN Secretary General António Guterres "to discuss the conditions for the safe operation of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant," the Russian defense department said in a statement.

As UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric later stated, the UN secretariat believes that its logistics and security capabilities will support any IAEA mission to the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant from Kyiv if Ukraine and Russia agree to such a trip.

"Appeal to common sense"

As Vladimir Olenchenko, senior researcher at the Center for European Studies at IMEMO RAS, noted in a commentary to RT, the Russian side responded very reasonably and objectively to all unfounded accusations in a joint statement by more than 40 countries and the Verkhovna Rada.

“The comments of Russian officials, in contrast to the baseless rhetoric in the joint statement, appeal to common sense.

The topic of Russia's responsibility for the shelling of the Ukrainian side even sounds absurd.

The guilt of the Russian Federation for the actions of Kyiv is artificially created and inflated by the West and its allies, ”the expert said.

According to Olenchenko, such a strategy is very dangerous, since the Ukrainian regime in such a situation feels unpunished and continues to carry out nuclear terrorism.

“Kyiv is acting with the connivance of Western countries, which are responsible for the behavior of the Ukrainian authorities.

The current leaders of Western states, apparently, are not aware that the shelling of the Zaporizhzhya NPP by the Armed Forces of Ukraine can lead to an accident at the station and have horrific consequences for the whole of Europe.

It will take decades to eliminate them.

But all these factors are ignored, in the West they pretend that nothing of the kind is happening.

This causes, to put it mildly, bewilderment and indignation,” the analyst said.

According to Nikita Danyuk, deputy director of the RUDN Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts, a member of the Russian Civic Chamber, Western countries deliberately turn a blind eye to the shelling of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant by the Ukrainian side.

“All attempts and calls from Russia to pay attention to the fact that Kyiv is attacking the ZNPP are ignored.

It is beneficial for the West not to notice the criminal actions of Kyiv, since it is easier to once again create the image of Russia as a country that is supposedly ready to sacrifice global security because of its geopolitical interests.

However, the reality is with the opposite sign: the Zaporizhzhya NPP is being shelled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, ”Danyuk stated in an interview with RT.

He explained that the West is now trying with all its might in the political plane to put pressure on Russia so that it transfers the ZNPP under the control of the Kyiv regime.

“But this is absolutely unthinkable: the territory of Energodar and the Zaporozhye region has been liberated, no one is going to give it back into the hands of the nationalists.

But the Armed Forces of Ukraine still, apparently, do not let go of the idea of ​​disrupting the referendum on the region's joining Russia, ”said Danyuk.

• Russian military in the area of ​​Zaporozhye NPP

• AP

Olenchenko, for his part, explained why Western countries condoned the exclusion of IAEA employees from the ZNPP.

“If the agency gets there and conducts an examination, it will recognize the responsibility of the Ukrainian military for shelling the station.

This is not what Europe and the West as a whole want, therefore they oppose all steps to conduct objective control, ”the expert stated.

A similar opinion is shared by Danyuk.

According to him, the West and Kyiv are afraid that the IAEA commission will be able to determine with maximum accuracy where the shelling comes from.

“And then at the official level it will be announced that it is Ukraine that is attacking the ZNPP and is actually trying to pursue a policy of blackmail with the help of nuclear terrorism.

The West and Kyiv always have all sorts of excuses so that the truth is not recorded.

Western countries prevent sending an IAEA delegation to Ukraine, while Russia is ready to provide security guarantees,” the analyst concluded.