‘Increasingly concerned’: US fears Russia will use nuclear weapons in Ukraine

Europe’s largest nuclear power plant is relying on generators, with just 15 days of fuel left, following Russian shelling.

Russian shelling has left Europe’s largest nuclear power plant reliant on generators, with only enough fuel to last 15 days.

Energy company Energoatom has raised concerns over the stability of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine following the damage.

“The countdown has begun,” Energoatom wrote, highlighting struggles in keeping “ZNPP in a safe mode.”

The power plant was taken by Russian forces in the beginning of the war and Energoatom believes Moscow will try to connect it to the Russian power grid in order to power Crimea and the Donbas region.

The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency also highlighted concerns about the “extremely precarious nuclear safety and security situation at the facility”.

Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe's largest nuclear power station and currently held by Russian occupying forces. Picture: Getty Images

RUSSIAN TROOPS FLEE UKRAINIAN CITY

Russian troops in the Ukrainian city of Kherson are reportedly fleeing following warnings from a senior European official they “retreat or die”.

A Russian flag previously placed on the building of the former Kherson government has now been removed as Russian authorities order an evacuation.

Kremlin-appointed Kherson governor, Kirill Stremousov said Ukraine were planning on flooding the region, which Ukraine strongly denies, and for Russians to leave immediately.

“Most likely, our troops will leave for the [eastern] bank, and those people who did not manage to get over from Kherson should be evacuated as quickly as possible,” Mr Stremousov said.

Since Moscow’s invasion began, Kherson is the only regional city they have been able to capture.

There are reports a battle could be on the cards for the region in the coming days, as claims of Ukrainian soldiers loading rockets onto launchers emerge.

Russian flag is removed from the main administrative building in Kherson pic.twitter.com/a5XG1FdEZe

— WarMonitor🇺🇦 (@WarMonitor3) November 3, 2022

KEY COUNTRY ‘SECRETLY HELPING’ RUSSIA

North Korea has been secretly supplying a “significant number” of artillery shells to Russia for use in its invasion of Ukraine by disguising the shipments, according to the White House.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said North Korea was trying to obscure the destination of the shipments by funnelling them through countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

“Our information indicates that (North Korea) is covertly supplying Russia’s war in Ukraine with a significant number of artillery shells, while obfuscating the real destination of the arms shipments by trying to make it appear as though they’re being sent to countries in the Middle East or North Africa,” Mr Kirby said on Wednesday.

Mr Kirby said North Korea was sending “a significant number of artillery shells.” He did not specify an exact number but said it was more than “dozens.”

“But we don’t believe that they are in such a quantity that they would tangibly change the direction of this war or tangibly change the momentum either in the east or in the south” of Ukraine, he said.

“We’re gonna continue to monitor whether these shipments are received,” he added.

In September, the US had said Russia is looking to purchase millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea, saying at the time that this indicated the Russian military continues to suffer from severe supply shortages in Ukraine.

‘INCREASING CONCERNS’ ABOUT RUSSIA’S NUKE THREATS

The White House has revealed that US officials are “increasingly concerned” about Moscow’s rhetoric regarding the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine, after top Russian military officials reportedly discussed how and when to use such a weapon.

“We have grown increasingly concerned about the potential as these months have gone on,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday.

Mr Kirby did not confirm a New York Times report that said high-level Russian military officials recently discussed when and how they might use tactical nuclear weapons on the battlefield.

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting via a video link in Sochi on November 2, 2022. Picture: Mikhail Metzel / Sputnik / AFP

The report, which cited unnamed US officials, said Russian President Vladimir Putin did not take part in the discussions, and there was no indication that the Russian military had decided to deploy the weapons.

But Mr Kirby said any comments on the use of nuclear weapons by Russia are “deeply concerning,” and said the US takes them seriously.

He pointed to recent Mr Putin comments talking about nuclear weapons and referencing the bombs US forces dropped on the Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki near the end of World War II.

“We take note of that,” Mr Kirby said.

“It increasingly is unsettling in terms of the degree to which he feels he has to continue to stretch to prosecute this war.”

At the same time, Mr Kirby reiterated, Washington sees no indications that Russia is making preparations to use nuclear weapons, adding that US intelligence does not necessarily see or know everything.

The US has been warning Moscow for weeks over public comments from top Russian officials that they could use nuclear weapons in Ukraine in certain cases, particularly if they felt there was a threat to Russian territorial integrity.

The most recent threat came from former Russian president and senior security council official Dmitry Medvedev.

Mr Medvedev said on Tuesday that Ukraine’s objective to reclaim all its territories occupied by Russia, which include the Donbas region and Crimea, would be a “threat to the existence of our state.” That, Mr Medvedev said, would be “a direct reason” to invoke nuclear deterrence. However, early Wednesday Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Western media was “deliberately pumping up the topic of the use of nuclear weapons.” Moscow does “not have the slightest intention to take part in this,” he said, calling the Times report “very irresponsible.” In September, Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, said that the US has warned Russia at “very high levels” of “catastrophic consequences” for using nuclear arms.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned on October 13 that Russian forces would be “annihilated” by the West if Putin uses nuclear weapons against Ukraine.

– with AFP

Originally published as ‘Increasingly concerned’: US fears Russia will use nuclear weapons in Ukraine