Russian ruler Vladimir Putin is blackmailing all of Europe by keeping the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant under his control, Forbes reports. This warning comes from British expert Simon Bennett of the University of Leicester, author of the Atomic Blackmail? The Weaponization of Nuclear Facilities During the Russia-Ukraine War book. 

The threat of a “dirty bomb” for all of Europe

According to Bennett, Russian occupiers could rig the Zaporizhzhia plant with explosives and, if Putin is defeated, remotely detonate its six reactors. This would create radioactive fallout clouds that would quickly spread across Europe.

“As demonstrated by the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown and radionuclide release … plumes of radioactive debris can travel many hundreds of miles,” he told the journalists. 

He recalls that radiation then reached as far as England, contaminating agricultural lands.

Putin endangers not only Ukraine but also Russia

Moreover, Kremlin control over the plant poses a threat to Russia itself.

“Should any of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants be hit, even the plants in the far west of the country, there is a real possibility that, if there were a persistent westerly wind, the plume would reach Russia’s heartlands,” Bennett warns.

Nuclear blackmail and new tactics of war with NATO

The expert also cautions that Russia’s military operations around nuclear plants may foreshadow tactics in a future war with NATO. He notes that the Kremlin might deploy “sleeper agents” to undermine Western infrastucture. These are spies with fake documents already embedded in the critical infrastructure of Western countries.

“I think it likely that Russia has in place sleepers across any state it considers hostile…which, of course, would include NATO member states,” Bennett concludes. 

Earlier, Euromaidan Press wrote that Russian ruler Vladimir Putin shows no intention of abandoning his objectives in Ukraine or ending the war. Even under the threat of new sanctions, he appears ready to go to extremes to achieve victory. 

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Ukrainian relay sabotage halts Russian supply line in occupied Ukrainian territories. Partisans from the Atesh resistance movement carried out a sabotage operation in Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast, blowing up rail infrastructure crucial for enemy logistics on the Zaporizhzhia front.

Sabotage deep in enemy territory

“A member of the Atesh movement operating deep behind enemy lines conducted a successful sabotage along the railway between Safonove and Novooleksiivka,” the partisans report.

A relay cabinet was damaged, paralyzing the movement of ammunition and fuel trains toward Melitopol, a key logistics hub for Russian forces in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Moscow troops control nearly 70% of the region, except for the main city – Zaporizhzia. 

Russian-occupied Melitopol is gripped by a humanitarian crisis, with water and power outages, drone strikes on high-voltage equipment, mass raids, and repression against locals, according to Glavcom.

Despite this, the residents refuse to back down, memorial events continue in the city, such as those marking the anniversary of the Olenivka tragedy. 

“Ah, this one’s dead? Good,” said Russian Olenivka prison chief — and continued sipping coffee

Zaporizhzhia front ablaze

Fighting remains intense, with over 500 Russian attacks reported in a single day, including airstrikes on Stepnohirsk and Novoandriivka, hundreds of drone strikes, and artillery barrages. Ukrainian forces hold the line, especially around Orikhiv, where they continue to repel assaults, says Ivan Fedorov, the region’s head. 

The greatest risk in the region remains the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Due to ongoing shelling of power lines, the facility is frequently forced to switch to diesel generators, posing a real danger of disaster.