veteran’s corner

Tom Krabbenhoft

Last week I laid out some Russian/Ukrainian conflict pros and cons from each side. Everything I wrote is quickly becoming fact. The Russians thought they were getting in the ring with Pee Wee Herman. Mike Tyson showed up instead.

Trying to follow what is happening there is difficult at best, confusing at worse. There is a thing called “Fog of War.” Things don’t always appear as they seem.

Let’s look at this. The media was all over the Russians bombing a nuclear power plant. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was struck and there is fighting there. The Russians attacked with silk gloves on, despite what the media says. But why? The plant supplies 20% plus power to all of Ukraine. It’s a very sound strategic move. Controlling that much of the country’s power makes life extremely difficult on Ukrainian leaders and the entire population. Having no power is demoralizing.

A full blown assault would have no doubt caused a radiation leak. Doing so would have caused the Russians to poison their own troops. The plant itself is most likely a Russian design. I’m speculating finding people that can operate the plant safely is easy and zero concern to the Russians. Taking the plant was a sound idea. Bombing it would’ve had harsh negative consequences. Including an open invitation for foreign forces.

Chernobyl picked up a bit of attention but not much. As you know Chernobyl is a nuclear plant that malfunctioned. It’s now encased in a cement sarcophagus. Capturing Chernobyl may have tactical and strategic purposes the media is too lazy to see. Chernobyl is a perfect place to set up a TOC (Tactical operations center), communications hub or anything else of military importance. Why? Ukrainian forces do not have the assets to retake Chernobyl, therefore it will remain relatively safe from attacks from them. However NATO has air assets that far overmatch the Russians. Chernobyl is FAR too risky to attack by air and the Russians know this. That’s why it’s a perfect place for the Russians to keep valuable assets. NATO would never risk releasing a radiation cloud over Europe with an airstrike. Here is where a nightmare scenario could take place. The Russians have tactical nukes. These are small and can be deployed on rockets and even artillery. These could be hidden at Chernobyl for use against NATO troops. These devices give off a slight radioactive signature. If the Russians had these at Chernobyl, the already present radioactivity would hide them.

Things I’m looking for this week. Foreign involvement on both sides. The Russians picking up probing and increasing skirmishes as they are looking for weaknesses. Increasing numbers of civilian dead due to aircraft being forced into higher altitudes.

Story ideas, veterans to highlight or comments as always contact me at 11btwk@gmail.com.