While most of the world was offline for Christmas, Putin floated a narrative designed to shift peace talks before they even begin.
THE STATEMENT:
On Dec 24, Putin told Russian business leaders that the United States wants joint control of Europeās largest nuclear power plant ā Zaporizhzhia ā allegedly to use its electricity for Bitcoin mining.
THE SOURCE:
Russian state media.
No U.S. confirmation.
No independent verification.
REALITY CHECK š§Æ
This story collapses under scrutiny:
ā¢ IAEA chief Rafael Grossi says restarting the plant is āimpossibleā
ā¢ No reliable cooling water
ā¢ No stable external power
ā¢ External power lost 12 times since 2022
ā¢ All 6 reactors are in cold shutdown
ā¢ Russia quietly licensed Reactor 1 anyway (Dec 23)
This isnāt an operational asset ā itās a political prop.
THE TELL š
Zelenskyy dismissed the idea outright:
āJoint control with Russia is not entirely realistic.ā
Translation:
You donāt co-manage stolen infrastructure with the occupier who took it.
WHAT PUTIN IS REALLY DOING š§
This isnāt about energy.
This isnāt about Bitcoin.
Itās a legitimacy test.
Putin is probing whether: ā¢ Trumpās pro-Bitcoin rhetoric
ā¢ U.S. appetite for ācreative dealsā
ā¢ and exhaustion with the war
can be leveraged to normalize Russiaās occupation of Ukrainian territory.
Crypto is just the wrapper.
WHY THE TIMING MATTERS ā°
ā¢ Trump meets Zelenskyy at Mar-a-Lago TODAY
ā¢ Zaporizhzhia is one of three unresolved items in the 20-point peace framework
ā¢ Putin injected the narrative before negotiations opened
Thatās not coincidence ā thatās positioning.
WHAT TO WATCH š
ā¢ Any U.S. mention of āenergy discussionsā ā major signal shift
ā¢ Any Ukrainian concession on the plant ā sovereignty breach
ā¢ Any IAEA safety veto ā instant deal killer
THE BIGGER IMPLICATION š
If a state successfully monetizes occupied nuclear infrastructure for Bitcoinā¦
ā¦it sets a precedent far bigger than crypto.
It redraws the rules of war, occupation, and economic legitimacy.
Thatās the story behind the story.
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