by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Missile attacks rain down of what was just days ago a peaceful nation, the threatening thunder of war jets tear through the skies, and lumbering convoys of troops and military equipment slowly crawl along once busy highways as they make their way into the nation's interior, like cancer invading a body.
Some of the people take their children and what they can carry as they flee to safety in other countries. Other rush to join with the nation's defenders and fight the invaders - and yet others just hunker down in their homes, and shelters, and subways to await the hand that history will deal them.
Russia has gone to war against its neighbor and former ally, the free and independent country of Ukraine. The unprovoked war of aggression is in its second week, and the Russian advance has been slowed by intense resistance from the Ukrainian people. The Great Russian Bear is also being taunted and crippled by a series of economic sanctions that were quickly imposed by Ukraine's allies in Europe, the America's, and even parts of Asia.
Vladimir Putin, the leader of Russia and the individual who chose to launch the attack and put Ukraine back within the Russian political and economic orbit, seems to be suffering a lack of prestige on the global stage because of his nation's inability to score a quick military victory, and he has now begun ratcheting up threats of unimagined reprisals if other nations feel the need to interfere with the Russian attacks or attack Russia itself. Putin, in fact, has ordered Russia's nuclear war capabilities to be on high alert.
But Putin's threats of horrific reprisals may involve something other than a Russian nuclear strike. Thursday night his troops shelled the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant near Enerhodar in southeastern Ukraine. The aerial bombardment of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe set a training center on fire, a fire that lasted several hours, but apparently did no structural harm to the six nuclear reactors that make up the Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility. As of the latest report the Russian military has control of the area around the plant, but it continues to be operated by Ukranians.
Ukraine has a total of fifteen nuclear reactors, with six being at the Zaporizhzhia plant. The six at Zaporizhzhia product 30% of the nation's energy supply. If Russia gains control of the nuclear energy production of Ukraine, it will be able to essentially unplug (and destabilize) the country. Worse yet, if missile attacks hit one of the reactors and cause a melt-down, the death and destruction could be beyond measure or comprehension.
Enerhodar, the city where the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is located, is 500 miles from Chernobyl, which is also in Ukraine, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster, an event that occurred in 1986.
Intentionally bombing a nuclear facility is something new in the annals of war, something hideous and evil with the power to indiscriminately kill millions, a level of savagery unlike anything the world has ever witnessed - and it has already happened - last Thursday night - in Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin has now demonstrated the lengths to which he will go to achieve his objectives. By attacking a peaceful nation and lobbing missiles at a nuclear power plant he has shown his reckless disregard for human life and humanity. It is time for this madness to end, and if that involves Mr. Putin being caged - or buried - so be it!
(As of September 1, 1921, the United States had 55 nuclear plants with a total of 93 nuclear reactors in 28 states. At that time two more reactors were under construction in Georgia.)
No comments:
Post a Comment