Former Trump adviser warns Russia may cause 'civilian' nuclear disaster if war continues

Former Deputy National Security Advisor Victoria Coates on Friday lamented that the Biden administration had failed to effectively counter the Russian invasion of Ukraine and warned that Moscow might cause a "civilian nuclear meltdown" amid intensifying clashes in the region.

"[Y]ou've heard from pundits on both sides of the aisle that the buildup of weapons to Ukraine by the Biden administration has so degraded the Russian military, that they were incapable of mounting a spring offensive," she said on the "Just the News, No Noise" television show. "Well, that wasn't true."

"[I]f President Biden wanted to commit the United States taxpayer to this fight to this degree, he should do it in a way that would win the war," she said. "That clearly hasn't been done. And Putin is capable of mounting a spring offensive."

"We do see the Russians shelling indiscriminately the Zaporizhzhia, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, which could result in a horrible Chernobyl-style kind of accident at any time," she warned. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility is currently under Russian control.

"[M]aybe that's what they mean by ... Putin's nuclear attack on Europe is that he'll create this kind of civilian nuclear meltdown that will be horrific for the continent," she suggested. "And that's the way he takes Ukraine. Are we prepared for that? I don't see any signs that we are."

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.