Ukraine troops try to seize nucleur power plant
Russia says it foiled Ukrainian attempt to seize nuclear plant
Sept 3 (Reuters) - Ukrainian forces attempted to capture the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in an attack on the facility on Friday night, Russia's defence ministry said in its daily briefing on Saturday.
The ministry said a Ukrainian naval force of more than 250 troops attempted to land on the coast of a lake near the Zaporizhzhia plant in southern Ukraine at around 11 p.m. local time (2000 GMT) on Friday.
"Despite the presence of representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the Kyiv regime once again attempted to seize the plant," the defence ministry said.
Russia said its forces foiled the attack with strikes from military helicopters and fighter jets, destroying 20 Ukrainian vessels and causing others to scatter and call off the attack.
Ukraine and Moscow have traded accusations about attacks on the power plant, Europe's largest nuclear energy station, in recent months. The plant was captured by Russian forces in March, but is connected to the Ukrainian power grid and is still operated by Ukrainian staff.
Russia said its forces foiled the attack with strikes from military helicopters and fighter jets, destroying 20 Ukrainian vessels and causing others to scatter and call off the attack.
Reuters was unable to verify the report.
Kyiv and Moscow have traded accusations about attacks on the power plant, Europe's largest nuclear energy station, in recent months. The plant was captured by Russian forces in March, but is connected to the Ukrainian power grid and is still operated by Ukrainian staff.
The IAEA sent a mission to the nuclear plant this week amid concerns an escalation could trigger a Chornobyl-style nuclear disaster on the European continent.
Both Russia and Ukraine have said the situation is grave and the risk of a nuclear catastrophe is high. Ukraine and the West have said Russia is using the site as a base for heavy weapons in a move to discourage Ukraine from firing on it.
Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on Friday denied Russia had heavy weapons at or near the power plant and accused Ukraine of committing "nuclear terrorism" through its attacks on the facility.
Russia says it foiled Ukrainian attempt to seize nuclear plant | Reuters
Our narrowing options in Ukraine
Some six months since the start of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the emergence of three realities in the war is forcing Washington to wrestle with some hard choices.
The first is that the combination of Ukrainian courage and U.S. technology has proved quite potent in blocking Russia’s attempt to conquer the bulk of Ukraine. American air defense support has denied Russia the air superiority essential to the rapid advance of its ground forces. American anti-tank weapons and targeting intelligence have prevented Russia’s armor from sweeping into Kyiv, and Russia has suffered significant personnel losses, particularly in its officer corps. Putin has been forced to downsize his battlefield ambitions and rely on a barrage of stand-off artillery and rocket strikes to slowly grind down Ukraine’s defenses in its Donbas region.
The second is that despite this defensive success, Ukraine has been unable to build offensive momentum and force the Russian military to withdraw. The delivery of advanced American artillery, rocket and missile systems has certainly helped Ukraine to strike Russian supply lines and weapons platforms, but its infantry has not been able to muster the numbers required to seize ground defended by Russian forces. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky insists that his long-promised offensive against Russian forces near Kherson will change this picture. But a near-term Ukrainian victory in the war is difficult to imagine.
The third is that American efforts to strong-arm Putin into retreat by crippling the Russian economy and isolating him on the world stage have sputtered. Western sanctions are no doubt hurting Russia; the International Monetary Fund forecasts a 6 percent decline in Russia’s GDP this year, and its technology sector faces a grim future. But this compares to a greater than 40 percent economic plunge in Ukraine. Russia’s currency is stronger today than it was before the war, despite President Biden’s vow to “turn the ruble into rubble.” Russian earnings from energy exports have actually grown thanks to higher oil prices and reluctance outside the West to join sanctions. Putin is persona non grata in the West, but he is hardly a pariah in the rest of the world, as his scheduled attendance at the G-20 summit meeting in Indonesia in November will attest.
Meanwhile, the economic fallout from the war is landing on the West as well as on Russia. Americans are grappling with higher gasoline and food prices. Europe is facing not only the prospect of a cold winter, but also significant disruptions in key industries, as sanctions-related shortages of natural gas and other Russian commodities take their toll on the construction, metals, and automotive sectors. Germany, highly dependent on Russian energy supplies, is headed toward significant economic turbulence in the coming months if current trends continue.
These realities have reshaped Putin’s strategy. Recognizing America’s advantages in battlefield technology, Putin has turned the conflict into an endurance contest that plays to Russian strengths. He is relying increasingly on China and the Global South to outflank Western sanctions, while counting on the vaunted pain tolerance of the Russian people to outlast Western political resolve. And he is apparently calculating that, even with sustained Western support, Ukraine cannot match Russia’s reserves of manpower, munitions and economic resilience in a war of attrition. Putin may be unable to conquer Ukraine altogether, but he can turn it into a bleeding wound for years to come, unable to mend itself and in no condition to join NATO.
Unless we change the terms of engagement, time may well be Putin’s ally in Ukraine. What choices do we have to counter his moves?
FULL- https://thehill.com/opinion/national...eid=f28a48fb2f
