The UN asked again this Tuesday removal of all military personnel and equipment of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporozhye, under the control of Russian troops. In addition, he assured that preparations are continuing to send a mission of international experts to assess the situation at the headquarters.
“The facility must not be used as part of a military operation and an agreement must be reached to a secure demilitarization perimeter to ensure security of the area,” UN political affairs chief Rosemary di Carlo said in a speech to the Security Council.
According to Di Carlo, “all military personnel and equipment must be withdrawn from the plant” and both sides must prevent attacks in the area. “Unfortunately, despite numerous calls, instead of reducing the tension, we continue to see almost daily reports of alarming incidents with the plant. If these incidents continue or increase, we can face disasterhe pointed out.
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The UN Security Council met on Tuesday at Russia’s request to review the dangerous situation in Zaporozhye, which this month has been subject to repeated attacks that have set off all alarms of a possible nuclear catastrophe.
Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other for these attacks against the largest nuclear plant in Europe, which has become one of the hot spots of the war, the beginning of which marks six months tomorrow.
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Kremlin accusations against Kyiv
Moscow used the meeting to denounce once again alleged Ukrainian bombing of the facilitywhich has been under the control of his forces for months, and to criticize the UN and Western powers for not directly asking Kyiv to stop.
the russian ambassador Vasily Nebenzia, has accused West to move in a “parallel reality“by holding Russia responsible for an attack on a nuclear power plant that he says his own military is protecting.
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Nebenzia described repeated artillery and drone attacks on the headquarters and showed the rest of the Security Council photos of the damage caused, while assuring that his country did not use Zaporozhye for military purposes.
Meanwhile, the US and its allies they again blamed Moscow for creating this dangerous situation and called, like the UN, for a demilitarized zone. The meeting also discussed sending an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission to Zaporizhia, an initiative Russia said it supported from the start and hoped would happen as soon as possible.
According to the UN, preparations for this visit by the experts are ongoing and the IAEA is in contact with all countries so that they can travel as soon as possible. “We welcome the latest statements by Ukraine and Russia indicating support for the IAEA’s goal of sending a mission to headquartersDi Carlo said, asking both sides to guarantee “immediate, safe and unrestricted access” to the site.
The UN has said on several occasions that it can provide logistical and security support to this mission from Kyiv, as long as Ukraine and Russia agree.