On Monday, AlertsUSA subscribers were notified of a new security alert issued by the U.S. State Department warning that Russia was stepping up efforts to launch strikes against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and government facilities in the coming days. As such, the U.S. Embassy is urging American citizens to depart Ukraine now using privately available ground transportation options if it is safe to do so.
Less than 48 hours after the alert was issued, a Russian missile slammed into a crowded railway station in the city of Chaplyne, killing at least 25 and injuring dozens more. Ukrainian President Zelensky reported the strike during a UN Security Council meeting.
Zaporizhzhya
On Thursday, AlertsUSA subscribers were notified of a major disruption in communications and power grid connections for the Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. According to the country’s state nuclear company, Energoatom, the last two working reactors at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant, which has been controlled by Russian military forces since early March, were disconnected from the grid after Russian artillery strikes and fire damaged overhead power lines.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, it was only the plant’s safety systems kicking in with backup power that had averted catastrophe. Additionally, the temporary break knocked out electricity in large stretches of southern Ukraine. Proper connections to the grid have since been restored.
As an interesting side note, late this week State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel made the following statement to reporters:
"No country should turn a nuclear power plant into an active war zone, and the U.S. opposes any Russian efforts to weaponize or divert energy from the plant. To be very clear, the Zaporizhzhia plant and the electricity that it produces rightly belongs to Ukraine, and any attempt to disconnect the plant from the Ukrainian power grid and redirect to occupied areas is unacceptable."
His comments were made in response to intelligence that Russia has intended to redirect power from the nuclear plant to the Crimean peninsula.
The Long Haul
Citing a US defense official, the Wall Street Journal reported this week that the Pentagon plans to name the U.S. military assistance mission in Ukraine (think Operation Desert Storm, Inherent Resolve, etc..) and appoint a general to lead the training and assistance effort.
A more telling sign that there is no end in sight for this conflict can be found in the details of the recently announced $3 billion dollar traunch of military aid. This package is a “multi-year military investment” including weapons that will not be available from defense contractors for at least three years.
AlertsUSA continues to monitor the domestic and international threat environment around the clock and will immediately notify service subscribers, via SMS messages to their mobile devices, of new alerts, warnings and advisories or any developments which signal a change the overall threat picture for American citizens as events warrant. |
