Ukraine says "militarization" of Zaporizhia power plant is "imminent threat of nuclear incident"

Calls on the international community for "urgent measures" to "avoid a nuclear disaster" with "global consequences"

MADRID, 23 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Government of Ukraine has reiterated that the "militarization" of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant by Russia poses "an imminent threat of a nuclear incident" at the facilities, after Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky assured on Thursday that Moscow is preparing an attack on the plant to release radiation.

"The mining and other forms of militarization of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant by Russia pose an imminent threat of a nuclear incident at the largest nuclear power plant in Europe," said the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, which has stressed that " Ukrainian intelligence agencies" believe that Moscow is considering "committing a terrorist act at the temporarily occupied power station".

"This terrorist attack would have global consequences," he warned in a statement published on his website, in which he insisted that Russia "seriously violates International Law and nuclear safety regulations and standards" with its occupation of the central. "We await an objective assessment of the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, on Russia's criminal actions," he said.

Thus, he has asserted that "the scale of the challenges facing the global nuclear security regime today as a result of Russia's war against Ukraine is extremely high and requires robust international efforts to prevent a nuclear disaster." , while noting that "as a terrorist state, Russia has violated all fundamental principles of nuclear security law and the vast majority of its treaty obligations, without facing just consequences for its crimes."

"We call on the international community, and in particular the G7 and the European Union, to take urgent measures to prevent a nuclear disaster at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, including but not limited to strengthening restrictive measures against the Russian nuclear industry and its complex military-industrial", said the ministry, which has abounded in "the need to recognize Russia as a terrorist state and guarantee inevitable consequences at the political, economic and legal level for all its crimes and illegal actions".

Hours earlier, Zelenski himself had called for the "complete vacancy" of the plant and stressed that "anyone who turns a blind eye to the Russian occupation, to the mining of the territory and the structures of the nuclear plant, in reality contributes not only to Russian evil, but to terror in general".

The Kremlin said on Thursday that Zelenski's accusations are "another lie" and recalled that Grossi visited the plant last week. The IAEA confirmed hours later that the agency's director general will visit Russia this Friday, although he did not give details about the place of his trip, which will be announced in due time due to security issues.

The IAEA has requested during the last year the creation of a security zone around the plant, precisely to avoid the risk of an accident. kyiv considers that Moscow uses this type of strategic facilities as blackmail, given that the possible effects of a nuclear disaster would transcend Ukraine's borders.

The Zaporizhia plant has six reactors commissioned between 1984 and 1995. It has been controlled by Russian forces since March of last year, shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, and has been the scene of constant offensives and a coveted piece both by Kiev like Moscow.