Russia considers shutting down Kursk nuclear plant: Official

8 comments

1. By Isabel van Brugen – News Reporter:

   Russia is considering shutting down a nuclear power plant in its border Kursk region amid an ongoing incursion launched by Ukraine last month, the head of Russia’s atomic energy agency said.

   Rosatom Director General Alexei Likhachev made the comments on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Russia’s Vladivostok on Thursday, state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported.

   Read more: [https://www.newsweek.com/russia-kursk-nuclear-plant-rosatom-incursion-1949709](https://www.newsweek.com/russia-kursk-nuclear-plant-rosatom-incursion-1949709)

2. Which would be, basically, Ukraine reaching another small success. A power plant that is shut down for safety reason is a power plant that produces zero energy too, however the path there may be.

3. What could Ukraine possibly do other than to occupy it? Cut off the power?

4. If it actually happens it’s a very VERY big deal for two reasons :

   1. Russia expects combat in the Kursk Oblast to continue for a while and that dislodging the Ukrainian military from there will be a lot harder than the “get them out by October ” order Putin gave.

   2. The Kursk NPP supplies a substantial portion of Russian industry with electricity including factories making military equipment. Sure it’s not the end of the world for those factories (if worse comes to worst they’ll ration civilian electricity to keep the factories running) but it will definitely limit output at least on a short-term basis.

5. > Russia considering shut down of Kursk nuclear power plant

   Kinda scorched earth policy, similar to what Russia did when they were invaded by Nazis in WW2.

   How embarrassing it would be if civilian life in the Kursk oblast resumed as normal, under Ukraine.
   Made little difference whether Moscow or Kyiv was in charge.

   Hard for Moscow to claim an existential fight for Russian survival if the Russian population meekly accepted change of control, and went on with their lives.

   High priority task should include providing Internet access to the world, Western radio, TV. Give the Russian population a taste of the world and real news.

6. Ukraine doesn’t want the hassle of occupying the NPP or the city of Kursk, although the feint toward the NPP has kept the Russians busy, for sure.

7. Ruzzia is worried that one of their own aircraft will accidentally drop a bomb on it as done in Belgorad several times.

8. On a northwest wind, it is a powerful weapon, and it puts the mutually assured destruction scenario onto the chess board. Russia smartest play is to lay its king down. There is no way for them to win, but there are more painful ways to lose.