PUTIN POCKETS ZAPORIZHZHIA NUCLEAR PLANT
October 5, 2022 -Durt Fibo

As Ukrainian forces continue retaking territory on the southern front, Russian President Vladimir Putin this morning signed a decree incorporating the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant into Russia’s state-owned assets. TASS, the Russian news agency, quoted the order, which declares: “The Russian government shall take measures to establish federal ownership of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant and other facilities necessary for its operation.”

The decree rather optimistically established the legal business status of the plant, instructing the Russian government “To grant the joint-stock company the Operator of the Zaporozhye NPP the status of an organization with operations in the area of nuclear energy, which, using its own capabilities or enlisting the support of other organizations, shall engage in activities to operate or cease operation of nuclear facilities at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.”

Such a legal structure would be good for Putin, because he and his siloviki own the arteries through which all money travels. As an investment, though, it might nor be so good for Putin, since the counteroffensive in the Kherson area already has the Ukrainians moved to within 60 to 70 miles from the power plant just as of this writing –into the town of Dudchany– and getting closer as the Russian lines splinter and fly backwards.

To safeguard his new acquisition, Putin simultaneously appointed Oleg Romanenko, ex-chief engineer of Russia’s Balakovo Nuclear Power Station, as head of what he now has renamed “the operating company of the Zaporozhye NPP, Rosenergoatom Company.”

Undoubtedly meaning well, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi shot off to Kyiv, leaving a troubled Tweet in his wake saying: “On our way to Kiev for important meetings. The need for a Nuclear Safety and Security Protection Zone (NSSPZ) around Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant is now more urgent than ever.”