(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . More Russian stuff blowing up, plus Russia mines the nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-06-20 Ukraine’s head of defense intelligence says that Russia has mined the nuclear power plant it occupies at Zaporizhzhia, including the cooling pond. The last thing Ukraine needs is another stricken nuclear power plant. The plant is currently in a cold shutdown state, so the risk of a radiation release is limited. But the west needs to make it clear to Russia that the consequences of destroying a nuclear power plant would be extremely severe. Without a credible threat of military consequences Russia will surely blow this power plant. x "Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was partly mined. And the scariest part is that the cooling system was mined. If it is damaged through explosion, there is a large probability of significant problems" - Kyrylo Budanov, head of @DI_Ukraine By the way, what have Russian media… pic.twitter.com/ne5Azxo1hq — Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) June 20, 2023 x Russia has mined the cooler of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant Fallout could extend to Belarus, Moldova and Turkey if Russia detonates it pic.twitter.com/KXw3NLkiac — Samuel Ramani (@SamRamani2) June 20, 2023 -------------------------------------------------------— Somethin’s burnin’. x There is a big fire ongoing near Korsunka, occupied left bank. https://t.co/qfk5JW6j6b pic.twitter.com/KiCHUaUX91 — NOELREPORTS 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) June 20, 2023 -------------------------------------------------------— Volnovakha is a town southeast of the main Ukrainian thrust toward Staromlynivka. -------------------------------------------------------— Bulgaria has dragged its feet on providing aid to Ukraine, but with a new government that is about to change. Bulgaria’s new defense minister, Todor Tagarev, has signaled a likely break from the previous caretaker government’s reluctance to provide lethal aid to Ukraine by pledging an imminent announcement on a fresh package of military assistance, a move that could increase tensions with Bulgaria’s president. Bulgarian officials have bickered publicly over the question of lethal aid for Kyiv fueled in part by two years of inconclusive elections and political stalemate that denied either side an upper hand and boosted the influence of pro-Kremlin President Rumen Radev. In an interview with RFE/RL’s Bulgarian Service on June 20, Tagarev said officials are now “striving to take a decision as soon as possible to provide a new aid package” pursuant to parliament’s endorsement late last year of military aid toward Ukraine’s war effort. Lawmakers in December urged caretaker Prime Minister Galab Donev and his government to be responsive to both Ukrainian requests and Bulgaria’s own security needs. “We are working to implement this point of the decision of the National Assembly and very soon we will announce the sending of the next package of military aid to Ukraine,” Tagarev told RFE/RL. “And we will continue to analyze the needs of Ukraine and our capabilities to see if we can help in the future as well.” Bulgarian sources this week told RFE/RL that providing ammunition and other weapons directly to Ukraine could be green-lighted as soon as this week. ………... Bulgaria is home to a thriving arms industry and a large stockpile of Soviet-era weapons familiar to many Ukrainian troops. The United States has offered to reimburse Sofia or replace some of Bulgaria’s aging military hardware with more modern systems in exchange for contributions from its stockpiles to Kyiv. ----------------------------------------------------------- Soldier’s best friend. And cats too. x ❤️🐈🐈‍⬛When nine lives can come in handy: cats in the Ukrainian military More news here 👉 https://t.co/S95ZiWHXi6 pic.twitter.com/vjaaOTmKE0 — The New Voice of Ukraine (@NewVoiceUkraine) June 20, 2023 x A Ukrainian girl sheltering together with her anxious cat during yesterday’s Russian wave of missile attacks on Kryvyi Rih. More news here 👉 https://t.co/S95ZiWIv7E pic.twitter.com/xrQhOxVZv0 — The New Voice of Ukraine (@NewVoiceUkraine) June 13, 2023 For those interested in following animal rescue efforts in Ukraine, this is a good Twitter account to follow. x WE ARE GOING TO DNIPRO 🇺🇦 To deliver much needed surgical instruments for hospitals in #Dnipro The hospitals there are under a lot of pressure, due to their location close to the front! If you can spare a few bucks for the journey - donate @ https://t.co/SluY2VXu5t Instruments… pic.twitter.com/mrdFlc8YcR — Animal Rescue Ukraine (@AnimalRescueUA) June 20, 2023 ------------------------------------------------------— Gag. Is dying like lemmings now considered a hyper-masculine quality that makes all women swoon? x Russian military blogger Zhivov says Russians hiding behind masks when appearing on camera is a huge mistake because Russian soldiers are all broad-shouldered, hyper-masculine beautiful men who stun Western women with their beauty. This is Zhivov himself, btw. pic.twitter.com/srIcBTxVnf — Dmitri (@wartranslated) June 20, 2023 ------------------------------------------------------— Muratov is an opponent of the Putin kleptocratic regime and the invasion of Ukraine. I don’t know what purpose it serves to interrupt his speech just because he is a Russian. x #Ukrainian journalists turned on the sound of air raid sirens during a speech by Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry #Muratov in Bonn. Muratov is editor-in-chief of the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta. pic.twitter.com/DkKE0j6Rnk — NEXTA (@nexta_tv) June 20, 2023 ------------------------------------------------------------ Is it still a dogfight if it’s plane vs. drone? x A Ukrainian Air Force fighter jet shoots down a Russian drone 💪🏻🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/Dwda3mqnMm — MAKS 23 👀🇺🇦 (@Maks_NAFO_FELLA) June 20, 2023 ----------------------------------------------------------- Zherebyanky, which is high ground in the area, is a wide spot in the road with agricultural storage facilities between the newly liberated village of Pyatykhaty and Luhove to the west. This is becoming the hill Russia has chosen to die on. x Looks like Zherebyanky is becoming a real graveyard for Russian scrap metal. pic.twitter.com/hNWHKr27Zk — Julian Röpcke🇺🇦 (@JulianRoepcke) June 20, 2023 x 🇺🇦Footage🇺🇦 The 🇷🇺 counterattack attempt in #Zaporizhzhia today resulted in a major loss of equipment for the 🇷🇺 army. The road to Zherebianky is filled with so many destroyed 🇷🇺 tanks that it actually makes it hard for #Ukraine to advance using this highway.#counteroffensive pic.twitter.com/BwVANqJF8S — Astraia Intel 🟨🟦 (@astraiaintel) June 20, 2023 x Russians tried to retake the liberated Piatykhatky in Zaporizhzhia Oblast using tanks but failed (the footage clearly shows the agricultural hangars in the adjacent village of Zherebianky https://t.co/aEjEtZmxGB) 📹https://t.co/l7cuzDvNmr pic.twitter.com/qJieh2ij1c — Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) June 20, 2023 Losing Piatykhatky turned out to be quite costly to the Russians. Interestingly, Russian sources claimed yesterday that they retreated tactically and moved back to safer positions around the settlement. But today, they admitted that Ukrainians attacked them from two sides, cut off their retreat routes, trapped them in a pocket and wiped out the Storm Ossetia Battalion along with their commander. This means that more than 300 Russian troops and their equipment were destroyed. Down the road to the west of Zherebyanky is a city called Vasylivka, that used to be on the waterfront back before Russia blew the Zaporizhzhia dam and emptied the reservoir. From Zherebyanky, Ukraine could go south to Hrozove, but there isn’t much there. Or it could go west to Vasylivka, which happens to be along the route towards Enerhodar and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Heading in that direction -- west through Luhove, which is the next town west of Zherebyansky — would also cut off the Russian garrison at Kam'yans'ke. x According to Russian sources the Russian occupation in Vasylivka introduced a curfew starting today. All civilians are forbidden to be outside between 21:30 and 05:00. Vasylivka is the major Russian hub for this sector and 13 km away from the Ukrainian spearhead near recently… pic.twitter.com/d2DZJgQ02B — (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) June 20, 2023 ----------------------------------------------------------- There’s no room for dissent in Russia. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/6/20/2176451/-More-Russian-stuff-blowing-up-plus-Russia-mines-the-nuclear-power-plant-at-Zaporizhzhia Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/