Russian Victimhood ... Ukrainian Terrorism

"The explosion occurred on the territory of the Zagorsk optical-mechanical plant in the area of the boiler house."

"The shock wave caused the windows of several houses to be blown out."

Russian Emergency Service

 

"One person died and fifty-six people were injured in a massive explosion at a factory some 75km from the center of Moscow, according to reports."

"Videos posted on social media showed a large mushroom cloud rising above the site of the blast."

"Local authorities have blamed a breach in protocols as the primary cause of the explosion, countering rumors of a Ukrainian drone strike that had circulated via Telegram channels."

Kyiv Post 

Explosion Rocks Military Optics Factory Near Moscow   Kyiv Post

 

The Kremlin orders the Russian military to invade Ukraine at President Vladimir Putin's behest. For the purpose of preempting Kyiv's intention -- Russian propaganda informs its public -- to attack Russia, for this, ostensibly is the plan of Ukrainian fascists, to prey on Russia with the intention of destroying it and in the process enlist the nations associated with NATO to supply the Ukrainian military, vastly undermanned and under-equipped with the wherewithal for success. The sanctions imposed on Russia represent a reprehensible Ukrainian plot, but Russia will not allow this to happen.

The question really is, how many Russian civilians believe this claptrap? And the urgency of ensuring that ordinary Russians have no doubt in the veracity of their government's war propaganda is now linked with the need to persuade the public that there is absolutely no danger that the war the Kremlin is fighting on their behalf as a civilized nation taking action to forfend a Ukrainian invasion will ever cross the border from Ukraine into Russia itself. Russia is immune from 'terrorism' striking from Ukraine.

And if it were not for the courage, perseverance and professional action on the part of the Russian military, Ukraine's plot to invade Russia would be an assured reality. But it will never happen; Russia has the situation firmly in hand. Mind, there have been some 'terrorist' aspirations carried out by drones striking close to the border and even daring to go so far as Moscow itself. On July 30 and August 1 drones smashed into Moscow's business district. Drones struck near Minsk highway as well as Domodedovo district.

More latterly, however, 56 people were injured, six severely, north of Moscow on Wednesday, a blast on the grounds of the Zagorsk optics manufacturing plant, damaging 28 apartment buildings and causing an area evacuation. The mangled industrial site was invaded by emergency crews with sniffer dogs while firefighters hosed down the wreckage. According to some in the Russian media, a drone attack was the cause of the blast at the plant site, Denied, however, by Russian authorities.

Members of emergency services work at the site of a blast at the Zagorsk Optical-Mechanical Plant in Sergiev Posad in the Moscow Region, Russia August 9, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer

 

The plant was described in 1995 as "a producer of precision optical equipment for the military", by the U.S. Department of Commerce. A procurement data statement as well, indicated the plant supplied binoculars and dosimeters to Russia's National Guard, that it produced equipment for military aircraft and that it was involved in the development of a new fighter-bomber, according to the Russian investigative news outlet Agentstvo.

According to the Investigative Committee, Russia's premier law enforcement agency, a criminal inquiry has been launched on charges of violating industrial safety requirements at hazardous production facilities. Which, translated, is that the plant itself was guilty of negligence in its safety procedures, a negligence that led to the occurrence of the blast. Russian citizens could rest assured that the war in Ukraine remains firmly there, with no intention of spilling over the border.

Although, of course, it is inconvenient that Ukraine's attempts to strike the Russian capital in acts of terrorism represent the latest plans to strike the Russian capital for the benighted campaign of unnerving Muscovites in the hopes of taking the war in Ukraine directly back to Russia. Citizens of Moscow could be assured that the "terrorist attack" was apprehended, the drones shot down, and no harm done.

When Ukrainian media reported that social media blogs revealed a thick plume of smoke billowing over Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozzhayev, the Moscow-appointed governor of annexed Sevastopol, assured the public that the smoke emanated from a "fleet training exercise", no cause for anyone to be concerned. "Yes, the smell is unpleasant, but it is absolutely safe. Everything is calm in the city." And a counteroffensive by Ukraine is not occurring, not in the least bit.

 

A rescuer with a dog works at the site of a blast at the Zagorsk Optical-Mechanical Plant in Sergiev Posad in the Moscow Region, Russia August 9, 2023, in this still image taken from video. Russian Emergencies Ministry/Handout via REUTERS