Putin is now using his first nuclear option

Putin has fired his first NUCLEAR salvo in his second war in Ukraine! (AlJazeera : YouTube : 3 March 2022)

 As reported by the BBC,

• "A fire broke out at the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant - Europe's largest - after a Russian shelling attack. Ukraine responders have managed to extinguish the blaze

• Ukraine’s State Emergency Services said there were no victims from the fire, which didn’t affect the reactor sites but a nearby five-storey training site

• Russia’s attack sparked immediate condemnation from Western leaders who called it a “horrific” and “reckless” act that threatened the safety of all of Europe

Ukraine President Zelensky had hours ago called on other nations to take more action immediately againsty Putin's “nuclear terror”  (BBC News : 4 March 2022) (my emphasis)

In the words of Lawrence O'Donnell,

"Tonight the nuclear nightmares of the Cold War returned to the world, thanks entirely to Vladimir Putin" (MSNBC : 4 March 2022) (my emphasis) 

And breaking news now, the BBC reports that,

"6:58
Breaking

Ukraine says Russian forces seized Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

Russian troops have seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the Ukrainian authorities say.
...
"Operational personnel are monitoring the condition of power units," a local authority said on social media, quoted by Reuters news agency.
...
Station personnel continue to work and monitor the state of the power units, it said.
A fire broke out at the plant earlier - Europe's largest - after a Russian shelling attack." (BBC News: 4 March 2022) (my emphasis)

More disconcerting, as reported by Jessie Yeung, Adam Renton, Jack Guy, Laura Smith-Spark, Adrienne Vogt, Melissa Macaya and Maureen Chowdhury,

"Russian President Vladimir Putin told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that he will continue military operations in Ukraine during a 90-minute call initiated by Putin, an Élysée Palace source told reporters at a briefing on Thursday.
...

The Élysée source said "the worst is yet to come" in Ukraine following Macron’s phone call with Putin.
...
 "Without making a prediction, we should expect the worst is yet to come." The (French) president said so yesterday as well. 

There is nothing in what Putin said today that should reassure us," the source said. (CNN : 4 March 2022) (my emphasis)

As also reported by David Averre,

"Russia's foreign minister [ that dyed-in-the-wool Soviet Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov] warns: 'A third world war will be NUCLEAR and destructive'

• Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that WWIII will be fought with nukes

• He warned that a third World War 'will be a nuclear and destructive one'

• Lavrov also accused Kyiv of delaying peace talks at the behest of the US and said the invasion aims to prevent Ukraine from obtaining nuclear weapons of its own

• It comes as Russian losses in Ukraine mount in the face of fierce resistance
  

• He warned any nation who intervenes in the operation will face 'consequences greater than any you have faced in history' (Mail Online : 2 March 2022) (my emphasis)

Putin is losing the ground war. (video : MSNBC : 3 March 2022)

And because he is loosing the ground war, Putin is now using his nuclear option as he has always threatened.

In the words of Prof Claire Corkhill (left),

" "For the first time this morning, I'm frightened," Sheffield University nuclear materials expert Prof Claire Corkhill tells me.
...
It appears that only one of six reactors at the plant is now operating.
...
Corkhill says the reactors are being taken "offline" which means "they’re shutting down the nuclear reaction and putting them into a safe and stable state".
...
She adds this might have been Russia's intention.
...
“If you want to target their power supply, you attack a building close to the power plant and force operators to shut it down," she says.
...
Corkhill adds that a "worst-case scenario" would be that the plant’s electricity supply were damaged as "we could be looking at a scenario similar to what happened at Fukushima in 2011, where a loss of power led to a loss of cooling, which caused a meltdown of three of its nuclear reactors"." (BBC News : 4 March 2022) (my emphasis)

Just think back to when Khrushchev was deposed by Leonid Brezhnev. It was the Supreme Soviet Presidium that forced Khrushchev to retire. (Wikipedia)

"Beginning in March 1964, Supreme Soviet presidium chairman and nominal head of state Leonid Brezhnev began plotting Khrushchev's removal with his colleagues. While Brezhnev considered having Khrushchev arrested as he returned from a trip to Scandinavia in June, he instead spent time persuading members of the Central Committee to support the ousting of Khrushchev, remembering how crucial the committee's support had been to Khrushchev in defeating the Anti-Party Group plot."

Putin does not have the equivalent of a Supreme Soviet Presidium that can collectively make decisions, and that can remove a President.

Instead, Putin has a Mafia-like kleptocratic "siloviki clique" that he controls.

                       (left to right : Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimo, Nikolai Patrushev, Viktor Zolotov)

                     (left to right: Sergey Naryshkin, Sergei Lavrov, Valentina Matviyenko, Alexander Bortnikov)

The recent public dressing down by Putin of Sergey Naryshkin indicates just what a strong hold Putin has on this 'siloviki' clique of his.

No-one should therefore expect that this "siloviki" clique can unseat Putin and end his dangerous war with Ukraine.

And it is this fact that makes Putin's first 'nuclear' salvo in his war with Ukraine a real danger for the world.

(to be continued)