'We have the protective suits': Kremlin propagandist says forces will fight through a nuclear disaster
Russian state television propagandist Vladimir Solovyov on Thursday accused Ukraine of shelling the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Solovyov also boasted that Russian soldiers are prepared for combat duty in the event of nuclear fallout.
"Our military has just shown that you're shelling the nuclear plant with 155-millimeter artillery and other NATO thingies, and like fools, you are yelling that the Russians are shelling at themselves with NATO weapons. Are you cretins? If it blows we have the protective suits and we will not stop military actions. Our Army was taught to fight under conditions of contamination," Solyvov said.
The facility – continental Europe's largest – was captured in the early days of President Vladimir Putin's offensive February 24th invasion and has been occupied by Russian forces ever since. And despite warnings of the dangers as well as demands by the United Nations to allow international inspectors to secure the facility, intermittent fighting around Zaporizhzhia in the outskirts of the city of Enerhodar has already caused non-critical damage to the structure. Russia and Ukraine have been exchanging blame for the perilous bombardments.
But concerns have swelled among Ukrainian intelligence officials of "massive Russian provocations" around and on Zaporizhzhia as soon as Friday. Such an action could release radiation from spent fuel rods or live fission reactors on a scale that would dwarf the deadly April 26th, 1986 accident at Chernobyl, which rendered 2,600 square kilometers of Ukraine and Belarus uninhabitable for centuries.
Next, Solovyov threatened the United States, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and their allies with atomic annihilation.
"As our Defense Ministry is showing, where are you going to put Germans, Poles, and others? Hm? I understand that Americans could care less. The last thing that interests Americans is whether there is a nuclear explosion anywhere. Americans don't care. Their approach is always the same: God will sort out the good ones from the bad. Guys, you should not have any illusions. NATO should have no illusions. You won't get away with all of this and you can't hide from us anywhere. We have enough warheads for everyone to get what they deserve," Solovyov added. "Everyone."
Footage and translation were provided by the Russian Media Monitor.
Watch below via The Daily Beast's Julia Davis or at this link.
\u201cMeanwhile on Russia's state TV: top propagandist accuses Ukraine of shelling Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, threatens the U.S. and NATO and says that the Russian military will continue the fighting even in the event of radioactive contamination: "They have protective suits."\u201d— Julia Davis (@Julia Davis) 1660861383
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This article has been updated.
