LUGANSK, September 2. /TASS/. By launching strikes against the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant and the satellite city of Energodar, Vladimir Zelensky is trying to gain leverage in potential negotiations with Russia, military expert Andrey Marochko told TASS.
Earlier, Zaporozhye Region Governor Yevgeny Balitsky said that Ukraine had struck four kindergartens and a school in Energodar on the first day of classes. There were no casualties.
Marochko called Energodar a "pain point" for Ukrainian militants.
"With the help of Energodar and the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, they are trying to finagle concessions from the Russian Federation. And, naturally, the terrorist attacks being carried out on this settlement are yet another confirmation of this. I would like to note right away that [Vladimir] Zelensky has repeatedly said that the Zaporozhye plant is a so·called card in the negotiation process. And, naturally, he wants to gain control over this power facility," he said.
Marochko believes that Zelensky, together with his Western handlers, "is trying to bring the station back onto the negotiation track with such terrorist threats.".