ISW reveals reasons for Russia's shelling of Zaporizhzhya NPP Radiation disaster threat

Russia is using the shelling of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in its information campaign to discredit Ukraine in order to gain full administrative control over the plant and act as a guarantor for preventing a nuclear disaster, the analysts of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said.

RBC-Ukraine reports citing the American think tank that the Kremlin, having gained control over the nuclear asset, is trying to force the international community to partially recognize the annexation of Ukrainian territories.

Experts note that two days of shelling have caused significant damage to the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant.

According to their sources, one Russian milblogger referenced a video of the shelling taken by Chechen forces and stated that it appeared the shelling came from positions in Russian-controlled territory south of the ZNPP, not Ukrainian-controlled territory north of the ZNPP.

"Artillery strikes themselves are unlikely to penetrate the containment units protecting each nuclear reactor and instead pose a greater threat to the spent nuclear fuel storage facilities, which could leak radioactive material and cause a radiological (as opposed to nuclear) disaster if compromised," the analysts said.