Mike Baker

Zaporizhia has already lost external power multiple times since 2022, forcing operators to rely on backup generators, while international watchdogs scrambled to assess the danger.

Each incident triggered urgent warnings from nuclear experts and the International Atomic Energy Agency , which has repeatedly stressed that nuclear safety cannot be guaranteed in an active combat zone.

That is also a statement of the obvious.

And yet here we are again.

For its part, Russia insists it's not targeting nuclear facilities.

Well, if they say so.

But striking the infrastructure that keeps those facilities safe amounts to the same thing in practice.

In effect, it's another form of nuclear blackmail, using the risk of a catastrophic accident as leverage.

The pressure isn't just on Ukraine, of course, but on Europe and the broader international community.

Now, this fits into a wider pattern Russia's winter energy campaign has already battered Ukraine's grid, leaving millions without reliable heat or electricity Hospitals, water systems and transportation networks have all been affected Adding nuclear risk to that equation raises the possibility of a humanitarian and environmental crisis layered on top of an already brutal war

International concern, of course, is growing.

European officials are watching closely, knowing that a serious incident at Zaporizhzhia wouldn't stop at Ukraine's borders.

And, let's face it, memories of Chernobyl still loom large across the continent.

For now, there's no confirmation that an attack is imminent, but the warnings are telling.

It's a possible indication of just how far Moscow may be willing to push escalation.

With consequences that could extend far beyond the battlefield.

All right, coming up next, new reporting shows the U.S.

was quietly in talks with a senior Maduro regime leader and hardline Venezuelan power broker months before Maduro's removal.

And the U.S.

Federal Aviation Administration, the FAA, warns airlines to exercise caution over parts of Latin America over concern for potential military activity.