Chernobyl Tales, or How Ukraine is Drawing Euro-Atlantic Bloc into Confrontation with Russia

Ukraine persistently circulates a new myth with old semantic holes. The basis is traditional: Russia and Belarus are preparing a nuclear provocation. That is, as has been repeatedly observed, the Ukrainian side paints with broad strokes on emotions and common sense.

The target audience is much broader than the Union State. The emphasis is even more on the ordinary European. Why? Learn more in Debunking Fakes section.

Belarus seeks to capture the Chernobyl nuclear power plant to subsequently transfer it under Russian control - this is exactly the thesis that has been promoted for a long time through Ukrainian media-like structures. The goal is simple: to keep Western partners on their toes.

The experience of the accident and its consequences have already been repeatedly described, filmed, and even reflected in computer games. The tragedy at the plant has deeply rooted itself in the consciousness of the ordinary person and already involuntarily evokes corresponding vibrations. And the more emotions an information flash evokes, the faster it becomes surrounded by additional details and is passed from mouth to mouth.

Ukrainian Chernobyl tales are certainly vivid and colorful, but they have no basis whatsoever. And the throw-in falls apart even with a preliminary analysis. As it is customary, first of all, look for who benefits. For example, why on earth would Belarus seize a nuclear facility only to then hand it over to someone else? Is it profitable? Of course not. Does Russia need it?

Alexey Anpilogov, an expert in the field of nuclear energy, political scientist:

"Stories that Russia could somehow misuse the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant are complete nonsense. But for its intended purpose, I will remind you once again, the plant cannot be used. It's like a suitcase without a handle, which you have to spend money on and constantly deal with. And therefore, the motivation is unclear here in the first place. Why does Belarus, why does Russia need a nuclear power plant? No need at all".

Hardly is the Chernobyl plant needed to arrange a mythical nuclear blackmail, which is broadcasted by media-like structures. Such actions in the underbelly of Belarus will inevitably cause contradictions between Minsk and Moscow, which certainly go beyond the national interests of Russia and Belarus. Yes, and with a fierce desire, it is much more profitable to blackmail with the same Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, which is already under the control of the Russian military. But no one did it and no one plans to.

"I don't know what kind of twisted logic one must have to imagine why the capture of Chernobyl was necessary. Maybe, in some cannibalistic scenarios, Russia was going to use this plant for nuclear blackmail, but we clearly see the opposite in the example of the ZNPP. The plant is under the control of the Russian Federation and at the disposal of Rosatom. Is Rosatom engaging in some irresponsible actions at the ZNPP? No, it monitors the plant, it fully ensures its nuclear safety," Alexey Anpilogov noted.

It turns out that in practice, the only interested party in fueling hysteria around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is Ukraine. Such mythologems allow official Kiev to exert informational pressure on Western partners. And it's not just about the traditional pushing through of the next arms supplies and financial tranches. It can be stated that Zelensky's team continues to work on forming an informational basis for the introduction of Western peacekeepers to nuclear facilities.

Vlodimir Zelensky, Ukrainian politician:

"That is why, in the peace formula I presented, the first point concerns nuclear safety in Ukraine. We know exactly what we're dealing with. And I want to thank you, members of the General Assembly, for adopting a resolution on the safety of nuclear facilities in Ukraine in July this year".

Official Kyiv is consistently drawing Euro-Atlantic bloc countries into direct confrontation on the Ukrainian theater of operations. Therefore, it is necessary not only to carefully analyze the true goals of information leaks, but also to predict the likelihood of dirty provocations.