Russia wanted a quick victory in Ukraine, and it sent its spies after Ukrainian nuclear power plant workers to make it happen

Thu, 04/27/2023 - 18:23

A serviceman with a Russian flag on his uniform stands guard near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict outside the Russian-controlled city of Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine August 4, 2022. — A guard with a Russian flag on his uniform near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in August 4.
REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

Ukraine's nuclear power plants were a central part of Russia's plan to force Kyiv's capitulation.
Moscow hoped to seize the plants and use them as leverage against Ukraine and Western countries.
To pull that off, Russian spies began targeting power-plant workers months before the invasion.

Ukraine has one of the largest nuclear power plant systems in the world. So when Russia started planning its invasion, Ukraine's nuclear energy infrastructure was a top target.