Ukraine Prosecutor Warns of Nuclear Catastrophe Risk from Russian Missile Flights

Ukraine's top prosecutor, Ruslan Kravchenko, has issued a stark warning regarding the escalating risks of a nuclear catastrophe due to Russian military actions near critical atomic facilities. His revelations detail a disturbing pattern of Russian hypersonic missile flights, with 35 Kinzhal missiles traversing close to Ukrainian nuclear power plants since the full-scale invasion began.

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Jest oczywiste, że loty nad obiektami atomowymi są przeprowadzane wyłącznie w celu zastraszenia i siania terroru

Kravchenko emphasized that these flights, some passing as close as 20 kilometers to the Chernobyl and Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plants, cannot be justified by military necessity. He asserts that these maneuvers are deliberate acts of intimidation and terror, designed to sow fear. This perspective aligns with Ukraine's consistent narrative of Russia employing tactics that disregard international safety norms and escalate conflict beyond conventional warfare.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has echoed these concerns, with Director General Rafael Grossi repeatedly calling for maximum restraint. The IAEA has flagged military activities near nuclear power plants and attacks on essential power substations that feed cooling systems as significant threats to nuclear safety. While Western media often focuses on the immediate battlefield, Ukraine's perspective highlights the long-term, existential threat posed by such actions to regional and global security.

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Dyrektor generalny MAEA (Rafael) Grossi wielokrotnie wyrażał głębokie zaniepokojenie ryzykiem i zagrożeniem wynikającym z tych działań militarnych dla bezpieczeństwa nuklearnego

Further compounding these fears, Ukrainian radar has detected at least 92 Russian drones flying within 5 kilometers of the Chernobyl power plant's containment sarcophagus since July 2024. Kravchenko suggests these drone flights are a tactic to bypass heavily defended Ukrainian air defense zones. The proximity of these incidents to vital nuclear infrastructure underscores Ukraine's vulnerability and its ongoing struggle against a belligerent neighbor whose actions, from Kyiv's viewpoint, demonstrate a blatant disregard for international safety protocols and a willingness to court disaster.

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