As Moscow and Kiev blamed each other for the resumption of shelling, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an end to military activities surrounding Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station on Thursday (August 11). Fighting near the plant has caused a ‘grave’ problem, the director of the UN nuclear inspector told the Security Council on Thursday, as the body gathered to assess the situation. He demanded access to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactor.
Rafael Grossi, speaking via video feed to the Security Council emergency meeting, stated that ‘this is a serious hour, a grave hour, and the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) must be allowed to conduct its mission to Zaporizhzhia as soon as possible’.
As the conflict between Ukraine and Russia’s forces drags on for months, there have been urgent international calls for an end to the violence in Zaporizhzhia, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. The two sides have traded accusations over a recent increase in fighting near a nuclear power plant that Russian forces quickly captured after invading Ukraine. Russian UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya blamed Ukrainian soldiers for the unrest in Zaporizhzhia.
Nebenzya informed the Council that ‘we call on states that support the Kyiv regime to bring their proxies into check to compel them to immediately and permanently stop attacks on Zaporizhzhia nuclear power. This is the only option to avoid a major radioactive catastrophe on the European continent, which is now more real than ever,’ Nebenzya added.
Washington also stated that it supports the creation of a demilitarised zone around the plant, as requested by the UN and others. The only way to ensure nuclear safety, according to Bonnie Jenkins, the undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, is for Moscow to end its war. ‘This visit cannot be postponed any longer,’ she explained.
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