In talks with his military chiefs, the Russian defense minister declared the war against Kyiv a success. As evidence, Shoigu cites that Kremlin troops have captured two locations in Donetsk. He calls the destruction of the Ukrainian power supply necessary.
Russia has justified the heavy rocket attacks on civilian objects in Ukraine as militarily necessary. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in Moscow: "The Russian armed forces are launching massive strikes with high-precision, long-range weapons against the system of military command, armaments factories and objects connected to them in order to break the military potential of Ukraine."
The minister described the war in Ukraine as successful. Recently, the Russian army has taken several towns in the Donetsk region and inflicted heavy losses on the Ukrainian military in the Luhansk region. The information cannot be verified independently. Since October, Russia's missile attacks have massively damaged Ukraine's energy supply. Millions of people only have limited access to electricity. The supply of water and heat is also difficult in many places.
At the same time, Shoigu accused Ukraine of continuing to attack the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant and of deliberately engaging in "nuclear terrorism". Russia is doing everything it can to ensure the safety of the facility, Shoigu explained. "In return, the Kiev regime is attempting to create the appearance of a threat of nuclear catastrophe by continuing to deliberately shell the site." In the past two weeks alone, Ukraine has fired 33 large-calibre projectiles at the facility. Most were intercepted by Russian air defenses. However, some had "hit objects" which affected the safe operation of the nuclear power plant. "We classify these attacks by Ukrainian troops as nuclear terrorism."
Shoigu made the allegations in a conference call with his military chiefs, according to a transcript released in part by the Russian Defense Ministry. The information could not be independently verified.
The nuclear power plant occupied by Russia is the largest in Europe. It has come under repeated fire in recent months, for which Russia and Ukraine blame each other. The incidents are fueling concerns that a nuclear catastrophe could occur in Zaporizhia. The UN nuclear regulator IAEA is therefore urging the establishment of a security zone around the plant. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted by the TASS news agency on Tuesday as saying there was "positive momentum" in talks with the IAEA on such a zone. Details were not disclosed.
