Russia plan to blow up Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has been \u201cdrafted and approved,\u201d Ukraine\u2019s intelligence says. Ukrainian troops advance in the east, retake the village of Rivnopil. Lukashenka \u201cextends his hand,\u201d Prigozhin says in first statement issued after failed mutiny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an interview with Britain\u2019s New Statesman magazine, Head of the Main Intelligence Department of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Major General Kyrylo Budanov, warned that Russia had finished preparations for an attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and planted explosives next to four of the six power units.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Budanov is confident that the Russia plan to blow up the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been \u201cdrafted and approved.\u201d \u201cTechnical means could be used to speed up the catastrophe,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Budanov, the cooling pond of the plant has been mined by Russian troops. Without cooling, the nuclear reactors could melt in a period of between ten hours and 14 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He believes Russia would be able to raise the voltage in the power supply lines to the plant, bringing about a nuclear accident at the lower end of that time frame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe situation has never been as severe as now,\u201d Ukraine\u2019s defense intelligence chief said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ukrainian military intelligence has also been able to establish that Russian troops have moved vehicles charged with explosives to four of the six power units. It is not clear if the International Atomic Energy Agency was granted access to these units during its visit on 15 June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether the order will come depends on how Russia sees the potential benefits from a nuclear disaster in southern Ukraine. Budanov told the New Statesman there are two possibilities. The first would be to blow up the power plant if Russian forces get ousted from the left bank of the Dnipro river. Russia would then create a zone of destruction and exclusion as a way to prevent Ukraine from advancing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second possibility is that Russia would use a nuclear disaster as a \u201cpreventive measure\u201d, in Budanov\u2019s words. The goal in this case would be to stop Ukraine\u2019s offensive before it starts and to freeze the line of contact as it exists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Defense forces have brought Rivnopil in Donetsk region back under Ukrainian control, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s the ninth settlement Ukraine\u2019s Armed Forces have claimed to have liberated since the launch of the counteroffensive. Rivnopil sits on the line between Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. The village was recaptured by the second mechanized battalion of the 31st separate mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Video posted by the brigade to Facebook showed Ukrainian soldiers inside Rivnopil. They said it was retaken on Sunday, June 25.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his first statement issued after his failed rebellion, the leader of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, spoke of a settlement negotiated with the Belarusian dictator, Alyaksandr Lukashenka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLukashenko extended his hand and offered to find solutions for the further work of [Wagner] in a legal jurisdiction,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said Lukashenka contacted him after the Wagner chief decided to \u201cstop the march on Moscow\u201d in order \u201cnot to spill Russian blood.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lukashenka\u2019s office has been silent about whether Prigozhin has arrived in Belarus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Responding to an inquiry by Russian media on June 26, the press service of the self-proclaimed Belarusian president said they were not aware if Prigozhin had arrived in Belarus. Journalists were asked to submit a written query.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Belarusian monitoring group Belaruski Hajun said plane-tracking data suggested that both of Prigozhin\u2019s jets were still in Russia. His BAe 125-800B (RA-02731) business jet did not leave Moscow since June 22. His primary jet, Embraer Legacy 600 (RA-02795) flew from St Petersburg to the south of Russia on June 25 and returned back that same evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Apparently, Prigozhin did not use his jets to fly to Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the same time, Prigozhin was rumored to have been spotted in Minsk on Monday, according to various unconfirmed reports posted to Telegram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aftermath of Kakhovka HPP explosion for population and business. Ukraine in Flames #471\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n