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Once again, reports indicate that the Kiev regime acts in a destabilizing way in Zaporozhye. Local officials informed that Ukrainian agents had recently attacked the region with the aim of capturing the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team, which would allow them to keep international officials hostage in a human shield. This type of tactic is absolutely condemned according to international humanitarian standards, which reveals the criminal praxis of the Ukrainian forces.

In an interview to Russian media, Vladimir Rogov, a member of the top council of Zaporozhye’s civil-military administration, claimed that Ukrainian saboteurs had tried to hold IAEA officials hostage to gain an advantage in Kiev’s planned military “counteroffensive.” According to Rogov, the attacks in the region were strongly intensified during the inspection, and at least two dozen high-speed military boats with several armed soldiers on board were disembarked in the area of ​​the Kakhovka Reservoir. The reservoir is close to the nuclear plant, being a strategic position for the grouping of troops that would be mobilized for the operation in the facilities.

“In the event of a successful capture of the nuclear power plant, the goal of the Ukrainian saboteurs was to take hostage the IAEA delegation and the employees of the nuclear power plant in order to use them as a human shield to establish control over the nuclear power plant, which would allow blackmailing Russia and the whole world with a nuclear threat”, Rogov told media in a recent interview.

Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry had already said that at least 60 Ukrainian paratroopers had taken part in an operation to occupy the ZNPP before the arrival of the delegation. Most of the soldiers were neutralized by Russian forces in the surrounding area of the Kakhovka reservoir, preventing the Ukrainian plan from materializing. Now, however, more recent information makes it clear that Kiev has continued to insist on its plan to seize the plant despite the presence of international inspectors, putting civilians’ lives unnecessarily in danger.

More serious than the mere attempt of irresponsible capture of the ZNPP, however, is the fact that there was possibly a plan to capture and hold as hostage innocent employees of an international inspection mission, whose purpose in the region is absolutely peaceful. The attempt to capture civilians in order to obtain military advantages through human shielding and intimidation is a real crime, which violates the most basic principles of international law. Although this was not the first attitude of this type on the part of Kiev, the case is especially serious as it shows how anti-Russian forces act in a destabilizing and anti-humanitarian way, targeting civilians.

As far as the IAEA’s work is concerned, the results of the inspection are yet to be announced. More likely, Rafael Grossi, director general of the IAEA, will publicly present a report in the third week of August. In fact, there is still the possibility of starting a permanent mission, with part of the delegation remaining at the ZNPP for continuous inspection. There is great expectation on the part of both sides about what will be said by the Agency’s representatives, as the Western side fears that its narrative about Russian attacks in the region will be denied and, in the same sense, Moscow expects the delegation to act with sincerity and report what actually happened in the region during the inspection.

Rogov, for example, commented that IAEA agents simply cannot say they did not see Ukrainian bombings in the region, as it was quite clear that it was the Kiev side that attacked the plant many times during the inspection. The western side, however, puts pressure on IAEA agents to confirm their narrative, as the current program of military aid to Ukraine and sanctions against Russia would lose support from public opinion if it were revealed by the agency that Kiev really attacks the plant. It remains to be seen what the official assessment will be and whether the report will be done in a truly neutral and apolitical manner.

In any case, the data from the Russian authorities about the attempt to capture civilians to form a human shield cannot be ignored. Once again, Kiev appears to be the side responsible for serious and extremely dangerous crimes. Coercive measures against the Ukrainian regime are necessary, as the country seems willing to disobey all international norms. And, certainly, the first step to be taken is to stop the Western military support that allows Kiev to continue committing such crimes.

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Lucas Leiroz is a researcher in Social Sciences at the Rural Federal University of Rio de Janeiro; geopolitical consultant. You can follow Lucas on Twitter.

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