West Won't Condemn ZNPP Attacks, Unwilling to Admit Its Proxy's Wrongdoing: Expert

The West is not going to denounce Kiev's strikes on the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, as by doing this it would "have to admit wrongdoing on the part of the proxy," Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for African Diplomacy and Leadership at the South African University of Johannesburg, Oscar van Heerden, told Sputnik Africa.

Following the Ukrainian attacks on the nuclear facility, US State Department official Matthew Miller called on Russia to "withdraw its military and civilian personnel from the plant" and to refrain from any action that could lead to a nuclear threat.

The expert explained this move with the fact that, firstly, the West wants to pretend that Russia is the one who threatens nuclear war, and, secondly, they hint that in case of a nuclear disaster at the station, the blame will be put on Russia.

"One, they want to make out as if Russia is the one that is threatening nuclear war, instead of saying that if Ukraine continues to strike the nuclear power plant, there could potentially be a nuclear disaster, which Ukraine must take ownership for. But at the same time, they're also calling on Russia not to do anything in terms of nuclear, because they are already trying to imply that when there is a disaster at Zaporozhye [Nuclear Power Station] with the strikes from Ukraine, they can turn around and blame it on Russia," he elaborated.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova underlined that it is foolhardy to suggest that the attacks on the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant have nothing to do with the Kiev regime, but Western countries simply cannot admit the obvious.

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Commenting on the lack of condemnation of Ukraine in Western mainstream media, Van Heerden pointed out that such outlets "cannot be believed; they change and shift narratives and try to influence."

"As for Western media, I think Western media have long-lost the plot. They cannot be believed, they change and shift narratives and try to influence. They spread lies, and this is evident with the mushrooming of alternative media houses, of social media houses," he highlighted.

Speaking about the role of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the expert noted that the organization is "complicit with the agenda of the West," as while inspecting the facility, "they were not concerned about the continuous shelling and the continuous attacks from Ukraine; [...] they were more concerned about the systems at the plant."

"They try to give the impression that they don't want to take sides in the conflict. But the truth of the matter is, as a regulatory body, internationally so, around nuclear, they should be the first to come out and condemn what Ukraine is doing. [...] And should be asking Western powers to actually engage with Ukraine and ask them to refrain from such violent action, but they are not doing it," van Heerden added.

According to him, South Africa, which voluntarily gave up its nuclear weapons, has "a moral authority to call on Ukraine to refrain from doing such actions."

"I think the international community, particularly the Global South, should begin to consider taking sanctions and action against Ukraine to bring an end to this conflict," the expert concluded.