Military expert explains how catastrophic Russian attack on nuclear plant would be
Military expert explains how catastrophic Russian attack on nuclear plant would be
Ukrainian officials have said that it is well prepared for a Russian attack at the Zaporizhzhia power plant. Retired Brigadier General Steve Anderson explains the potential consequences if this happens. #CNN #News
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0.233 -> This morning,
0.867 -> an urgent warning from Ukrainian
3.003 -> President Zelensky,
3.937 -> who says objects
5.271 -> that look like explosives
6.773 -> have been found on two nuclear
8.675 -> reactors, ends up Burisma
10.043 -> And he says Russia put them there.
12.245 -> This Operation
12.912 -> Power Plant is Europe's largest
14.414 -> nuclear plant.
15.382 -> Russia has occupied the plant
16.916 -> since the beginning of its war
18.618 -> in Ukraine.
19.452 -> Ever since,
20.286 -> there has been a grave global concern
23.79 -> that Russian forces
24.924 -> could carry out
25.759 -> a catastrophic nuclear attack.
27.927 -> Zelensky's.
28.461 -> Direct message to Moscow right now
30.497 -> the world sees
31.464 -> and the world is ready to respond.
33.6 -> CNN Scott McLean is in London
35.869 -> for us tracking this threat.
37.437 -> Scott,
38.071 -> we've heard
38.671 -> from Zelensky on this,
40.173 -> but Russia
40.707 -> also has its own version of events.
42.809 -> What are you hearing?
44.711 -> Yeah, so look, Zelensky
45.779 -> says that the only threat to the planet
47.38 -> right now is from Russia.
48.882 -> The Russians say that they are no threat
50.55 -> at all.
50.784 -> In fact,
51.284 -> they've previously said
52.452 -> that the International
53.219 -> Atomic Energy Agency,
54.654 -> they have inspectors,
55.955 -> they have employees
57.057 -> who are working at the site right now.
59.793 -> And it was last week,
60.76 -> actually,
61.094 -> that the IAEA put out a statement
62.829 -> saying that they have seen
63.763 -> no evidence of any bombs or any mines
67.7 -> located on that site.
69.002 -> Though the caveat is
69.903 -> they say that they still would need
71.738 -> more fuller access to the site itself
75.108 -> in order to say that with 100% certainty.
78.378 -> The Russians say that, look,
79.679 -> the threat here is from Ukraine.
82.015 -> Dmitry Peskov,
82.882 -> the Kremlin spokesperson, said
84.217 -> this and I quote earlier today,
86.352 -> There is a great threat of sabotage
88.588 -> by Kiev,
89.589 -> which can have catastrophic consequences.
92.792 -> For the record, Sara,
93.96 -> President Zelensky
94.828 -> isn't putting out any specific evidence
97.13 -> of his allegations here
98.765 -> of these explosives on site,
100.066 -> but he is saying that
101.701 -> this would essentially be a false flag
103.57 -> operation, echoing
104.671 -> what the Ukrainian military
106.005 -> has said before
106.906 -> and that any explosion
108.308 -> would make it look like
109.576 -> this was the result of
111.211 -> Ukrainian shelling,
112.212 -> but wouldn't be powerful enough
113.48 -> to actually damage
114.447 -> the reactors themselves.
115.915 -> Still, the Ukrainians say
117.183 -> that their emergency services
118.618 -> have been preparing
119.452 -> for this kind of possibility.
121.955 -> Special Forces from
123.356 -> Ukraine are on alert as well.
125.558 -> And the Russians say
126.626 -> that they are also prepared for this.
128.027 -> So everyone here is on high alert.
131.231 -> I just want to show you
132.132 -> a satellite image as well,
133.133 -> just to kind of better
134.033 -> illustrate this area.
135.034 -> So the reactors themselves,
137.07 -> which you should be able
137.737 -> to see
138.071 -> on the top
138.671 -> of this image, of this image,
140.673 -> those red circles there.
143.076 -> They're housed
143.776 -> in these containment buildings
145.945 -> which are designed to be able
147.714 -> to withstand the force
149.449 -> of an accidental plane
150.884 -> crash, how
151.351 -> they would
151.985 -> hold up against the weapons of war.
153.987 -> We don't have a good answer to that.
155.355 -> But also keep in mind
156.156 -> that at the bottom of your screen there
157.59 -> you see those rectangles.
159.392 -> They're those dark rectangles.
160.56 -> Those are cooling ponds
161.928 -> which store the spent nuclear fuel rods.
164.964 -> And they are right out there in the open.
166.566 -> They have no protection at all.
168.768 -> So there's not a whole lot of margin
170.17 -> for error that we're talking about here.
172.372 -> The good news is that we are getting
173.907 -> some reassuring signs from
176.409 -> nuclear officials
177.343 -> on both sides of the front line.
178.545 -> And the Ukrainians say
179.312 -> that the situation is stable.
180.914 -> The Russian backed officials
182.448 -> and the occupied parts
183.983 -> of Ukraine where this plant is located
186.252 -> they say that the background
187.52 -> radiation levels are normal.
189.489 -> They also call, Zelensky's
190.924 -> claims, garbage.
192.258 -> One other thing
192.759 -> to quickly mention, Sarah,
193.893 -> and that is that
194.861 -> the Kremlin today
195.962 -> is denying
196.663 -> a report
197.263 -> in the Financial Times
199.098 -> that Chinese President Xi
200.6 -> Jinping had warned
201.834 -> Russian President
202.969 -> Vladimir Putin
203.87 -> against using nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
206.272 -> The Kremlin calling that
207.24 -> report, quote, fiction.
209.008 -> Sara,
209.842 -> I think that's what you're hearing
210.777 -> Phil Linsky say the world is watching.
213.079 -> Thank you so much for all of that, Scott.
215.014 -> John All right.
215.715 -> Let me give you a sense of where
217.15 -> all this is taking place.
218.384 -> If you can see the map right here.
219.852 -> The separation
220.553 -> nuclear power plant is right here
222.989 -> that has been in Russian hands
224.624 -> since the beginning. Of the invasion.
226.526 -> Zap reach of the city
228.428 -> is still in Ukrainian hands
229.996 -> and has been since the very beginning
232.332 -> and a great deal
233.366 -> of the fighting in the counteroffensive
235.235 -> has been happening
236.102 -> along the salient right here.
237.637 -> You can see I think you can see more.
239.072 -> You can't from where you are in yellow.
241.007 -> These are some of the towns and cities
243.142 -> that Ukraine has taken back
244.944 -> in the counteroffensive.
246.112 -> That is where they have made
247.814 -> some progress.
249.349 -> Let's bring in retired U.S.
250.85 -> Army Brigadier General Steve Anderson.
252.518 -> General, great to see you.
254.22 -> I want to put up pictures again
256.022 -> of this at four U.S. nuclear power plant.
258.691 -> How much of a disaster
260.26 -> would it be from a strategic standpoint
262.395 -> if Russia did sabotage this plant?
266.933 -> Well, thank you, John.
267.934 -> Well, this would be a huge disaster.
270.536 -> Operationally and strategically,
272.305 -> I mean, it's in
274.807 -> some of the richest farmland in the world
277.143 -> is within 50
278.311 -> to 100
278.911 -> miles of this facility,
280.913 -> the largest nuclear power plant
283.249 -> in Europe.
284.25 -> And that is incredibly impactful
287.32 -> on the world
288.121 -> food supply,
288.855 -> potentially, not to mention, of course,
290.49 -> the threat, the loss of life and whatnot.
292.158 -> So this is why
294.093 -> the International Atomic Energy
295.728 -> Commission has got to actually step
297.397 -> up, get inspectors on there and confirm
300.6 -> or deny the state of the situation there.
303.136 -> The other thing
304.57 -> I think that's being pointed out
305.872 -> by Japan's
306.506 -> operations on the ground
307.74 -> is that retaking
308.941 -> Zapier Asia
310.243 -> is a high priority
312.011 -> for this Ukrainian counter-offensive.
314.58 -> So they, too, need to step it up.
316.916 -> Vladimir Putin is desperate.
319.085 -> We saw what he did.
320.753 -> His reaction
321.721 -> to the recent Wagner group defection
325.692 -> He's
326.426 -> becoming increasingly
328.227 -> vulnerable internally.
330.129 -> And so there's no limit
332.532 -> to what this desperate
333.433 -> man might very well do.
334.5 -> He's already taken out the dam
336.969 -> that has the potential to impact
339.005 -> some of those six reservoirs
340.773 -> that Scott just pointed out
342.608 -> and the facility, because this is
345.511 -> Zamperini is a pressurized water reactor.
348.247 -> Chernobyl was a graphite
349.649 -> moderated reactor.
350.85 -> What that means is they need water.
353.019 -> They need water and cooling towers
354.687 -> and containment facilities
356.255 -> and all those things
357.323 -> are made out of concrete.
358.958 -> And, you know,
359.492 -> and weapons of war can take down
361.327 -> those those concrete structures.
363.496 -> So this is a grave threat.
366.165 -> And we need to step it up
367.266 -> with the International Atomic Energy
368.634 -> Commission and
370.103 -> operationally on the ground.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-jhWHGd8bo