The US delivered to Ukraine sensors that detect a surge of radiation. This is solely caused by Russia’s nuclear blackmail, not the Ukrainian army’s actions or plans.
Russian media are spreading yet another disinformation about the Ukrainian counteroffensive. This time, the pro-Kremlin media claimed that American data confirmed the Ukrainian plans to blow-up the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The US military handed Ukraine sensors that detect a surge of radiation. This supposedly confirms, according to the Russian media, that ‘the Americans fear an explosion of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant during the Ukrainian counteroffensive.’
‘In lue of preparations for a Ukrainian counteroffensive and the potential danger to the Zaporizhzhia NPP, it can be related to a possible explosion at the ZNPP,’ Russian media write.
The disinformation of the Russian media is based on the out-of-context and manipulative interpretation of The New York Times article. The article does not mention the Ukrainian Forces allegedly preparing to ‘blow up the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.’ On the contrary, the article says that the USA delivered sensors able to detect a surge of radiation to Ukraine exclusively because of Russia’s nuclear blackmail. This step is unrelated to the actions or plans of the Ukrainian army.
The New York Times reports that the Nuclear Emergency Support Team (NEST), working under the US Department of Energy’s Nuclear Security Administration, has deployed a network of sensors in Ukraine to quickly identify and locate the source of radiation. These devices will help Ukraine detect an emergency situation at a nuclear facility as early as possible and allow them to notify about it.
The equipment deployed in Ukraine, the US government believes, will disable Russia from using nuclear weapons in Ukraine incognito. In case of a disaster, sensors will quickly detect the so-called atomic signature formed after the explosion. In this way, the US will be able to expose the Russian operation under a foreign flag, in case Russia wants to carry out an anti-Ukrainian provocation using radioactive substances. This is the purpose for delivering sensors to Ukraine, which refutes any Russian statements about the Ukrainian Forces preparing to blow up a power plant.
According to the US Department of Energy and NEST (March 2023), since the large-scale invasion into Ukraine Russia has consistently violated the principles of nuclear safety and security. American experts recorded at least 13 cases of Russian nuclear aggression in Ukraine. Among them are missile attacks on nuclear facilities in Ukraine, the seizure and looting of the Zaporizhzhia and Chornobyl nuclear power plants and much more. The list also does not include multiple cases of Russian authorities verbally threatening to use nuclear weapons.
Information about deploying sensors to detect radiation surges in Ukraine and its surroundings is not new. In March 2023, the US Energy Secretary Jennifer Grenholm emphasized that the Kremlin is fully aware of the nuclear risks associated with the Russian war in Ukraine, but continues its aggression against Ukrainian nuclear facilities and civilian infrastructure, regardless of the possible consequences. With this in mind, Grenholm noted at the time, American NEST scientists constantly monitor data from radiation sensors in Ukraine and the region to control the state of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities.
