“..You would think the Russians would want to capture the power plant intact so they could use it....”
Exactly.
I suspect they’d bomb the generators to knock the power off the grid, and not the reactor buildings itself.
Once in control, they could repair the generators to serve their needs.
This from the Serbian press:
“The Russians occupied the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant this morning, and the question of safety from possible radiation was immediately raised.”
https://www.b92.net/eng/comments.php?nav_id=113189
So the Russians are shelling themselves? Or the above report incorrect?
And are the Russian soldiers nuclear technicians? Would the Ukrainians continue to operate it under Russian control? It seems if they didn’t their homes would become radioactive.
The fog of war.