The main front of the military massacre organized by Russia on the territory of Ukraine moves to the south. And this is dangerous, because there is a risk of a catastrophe at the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, as well as the beginning of a bloody battle for the important city of Kherson, which Russian troops occupied in the first days of the invasion.

The New York Times writes about this, recalling that at first Russian troops tried to advance on Kyiv, and then concentrated on the Donbass, where months of artillery duels took away thousands of lives on both sides of the front.. Now the war is entering a new phase. Both Kyiv and Moscow hope that it will be decisive. Fighting continues near the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, as well as the city of Kherson, located 100 kilometers from the station down the Dnieper. Russia and Ukraine are concentrating their forces, hoping to avoid a stalemate that could drag on for years.

Russia uses the territory of the ZNPP as a springboard for shelling Ukrainian positions. From here, Russian howitzers are shelling the city of Nikopol, which remains under the control of Ukrainian forces.. Increasing fighting near the power plant is causing people in the region to flee out of fear of a potential nuclear holocaust.. At the same time, Russian forces in Kherson faced the threat of encirclement by the Ukrainian army.. The plight of the Russian troops in the city arose due to the fact that they actually remained cut off from the main supply channels after the Ukrainian army destroyed four bridges across the Dnieper. Therefore, the future of these occupation units is being actively discussed.. Over the weekend, there were reports that the Russian command had already left Kherson. Ukrainian MP Serhiy Khlan said on television that Russia is moving the command center from Kherson to the other side of the Dnieper, where Russian positions are better protected.. However, Ukrainian army sources told the New York Times they see no sign of such a Russian retreat.. Analysts believe that Ukrainian politicians are interested in exaggerating Russian problems in order to demoralize Russian troops and cheer up Ukrainians.

[see_also ids\u003d"

But the Russian forces in Kherson no doubt faced difficulties due to the loss of supply lines.. According to Khlan, the only way for Russian soldiers to cross to the safer left bank of the Dnieper is to use pontoon bridges or cross the damaged bridges on foot without equipment.. Ukraine's large-scale counter-offensive in the Kherson region, which has been threatened for quite some time, has so far been limited to attacks in villages near the regional center and threats against Russian troops there. However, Moscow, due to the threat of increased Ukrainian attacks, is even more eager to maintain control over the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.. The Russian army is trying to stop the Ukrainian troops and not allow them to start the battle for Kherson, firing from the territory of the power plant.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of " But the Ukrainian military said their options were limited.. They are afraid to shoot back at the Russians at the ZNPP, so as not to damage the only operating nuclear power plant in the war zone.

Fearing a nuclear holocaust, locals are already trying to leave the region. And every day the situation is getting worse, - said the mayor of Energodar Dmitry Orlov. He said that on Sunday morning he talked with the head of the shift at ZNPP. He said that the whistling and the roar of artillery shelling became almost continuous.

"

According to him, the shift supervisor at ZNPP is going to take his family out of Energodar and is thinking about never coming back.. The Russian army took over the station in March, although Ukrainian engineers continue to operate it.. Orlov said that ZNPP workers are “trying to take their wives and children” away while they themselves continue to work shifts. The outflow of Ukrainian workers increased the risk of an accident at the power plant, even without missile strikes. Because if there is no one to service the nuclear power plant, it may fail. Orlov told the New York Times that Russian troops were shelling the station from the vicinity of Energodar. Energoatom said that due to Russian fire, one ZNPP worker was killed and two more were injured.

[see_also ids\u003d"

One of the former workers of the station, who managed to leave, said that he saw Russian military equipment on the territory of the nuclear power plant. And that the accumulation of heavy weapons there took place for several weeks. Due to the deteriorating conditions in the region, civilians began to leave the city en masse.. Long traffic jams formed at the exits from Energodar over the weekend.

“Locals are leaving the city,” said a former engineer who asked to be called Alexei.

Ukrainian engineers say thick reinforced concrete structures protect ZNPP reactors from direct impacts. But Russian shelling could cause a fire or other damage that could lead to a nuclear accident..

In six pressurized water reactors, most radiation sources are isolated, reducing risks. After an accident at a similar type of reactor in Japan's Fukushima in 2011, Ukraine upgraded the ZNPP so that the reactors could be shut down even without water from external cooling tanks.. Engineer Aleksey, who left Energodar in June, said that most of the workers at the power plant remain. But they try to evacuate their families. Before the invasion, about 50 thousand people lived in Energodar.