After the Wagner Uprising, Worry About the Nuclear Plant in Ukraine
Unable to win and suddenly vulnerable at home, Russian President Vladimir Putin may decide to destroy Ukraine altogether — by fire, flood or irradiation.
Booby-trapped.
Photographer: Andrey Borodulin/AFP via Getty Images
To grasp the danger of this moment, wrap your mind around the following split-screen: In Russia proper, Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Russian mercenary force Wagner, is attempting a putsch against the Kremlin. He says it’s not aimed directly at his former protector, President Vladimir Putin, but the latter has declared him to be a traitor and promised severe punishment. What happens next is anybody’s guess.
Meanwhile in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy just warned that the Russians appear to be hatching another act of mass terrorism, this one involving a radiation disaster. Last week, Ukraine’s spy chief, Kyrylo Budanov, revealed that the Russians have mined — that is, attached explosives to — the cooling system of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which the Russians seized just after their attack on Ukraine last year and have held ever since. Why would they strap bombs to something unless they want the option of blowing it up?