'Sabotage' hits Russian military sites in Crimea as Ukraine fights back
NBCDec 26, 2022
Day 176 Roundup: At Least 12 Killed in Deadly Blasts in Kharkiv; Russia Threatens to Shut Off Zaporizhzhia Plant
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Image copyright: Ukraine State Emergency Services [via Al Jazeera]
The Facts
In the last 24 hrs, Russian missile attacks on the northeastern region of Kharkiv have killed at least 12 civilians, local officials confirmed on Thursday. In the city of Kharkiv, at least ten civilians were reported killed and at least 35 more were injured in separate attacks. An additional two civilians were reported killed and two were injured in the nearby village of Krasnohrad.
Ukrainian officials also reported that three civilians were killed and six more were injured as a result of Russian shelling in the Donetsk region, where heavy fighting and artillery fire continues. Pro-Russia separatists from the Donetsk People's Republic reported one civilian was killed and nine were injured in Ukrainian attacks for the same time period. Russian shelling was also reported in Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia but there were no reports of civilian casualties.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Experts have made it clear – the situation at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant presents the risk of another Chernobyl. Nuclear disaster has, miraculously, been avoided so far, but continuing risks the safety and effectiveness of staff to control the reactors could have catastrophic consequences.
Establishment-critical narrative
Although Zaporizhzhia's cooling systems will be relatively vulnerable due to their contact with the outside world, the worst case scenario would only cause serious damage at a local level. Both Russia and Ukraine are over stating the risk of nuclear catastrophe to galvanize domestic support for the invasion and play upon Western fears to incentivize providing military and public support respectively.
