UN alarm as Ukraine nuclear power plant shelled again
More shelling of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been reported, with Ukraine and Russia again blaming each other for the attack.
Each side said there were 10 hits on the office and fire station of Europe’s biggest power plant on Thursday.
At a meeting of the UN Security Council called to discuss the situation, the head of its nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, warning it was a “grave hour”.
UN Secretary General António Guterres also said it could “lead to disaster”.
China and the US both called for UN experts to be allowed to urgently visit the plant, but similar demands in the past have so far not been acted upon.
Earlier, the US also called for a demilitarised zone to be established around the plant: “Fighting near a nuclear plant is dangerous and irresponsible,” a state department spokesperson said.
However, Russia’s UN representative said demilitarisation was not an option, suggesting that it would make the plant more vulnerable to “provocations” and “terror attacks”.
The facility and its surrounding area in central-eastern Ukraine saw shelling last week, with Russia and Ukraine also accusing each other over that attack.
Ukraine says Russia has turned the site into a military base, launching attacks from there knowing that Ukrainian forces are unlikely to retaliate.
Moscow denies the claim.
Agencies