To ward off the specter of a major disaster similar to that of Chernobyl in 1986. Located in southern Ukraine and controlled by Russian forces, the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, has been bombed several times these weeks, Moscow and kyiv accusing each other of these strikes. While the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) made a particularly worrying report, it was at the center of the telephone conversation this Sunday between the French and Russian presidents.
Emmanuel Macron told Vladimir Putin that it was “the Russian occupation the cause of the risks” weighing on the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporijjia “and asked him to withdraw the” heavy and light weapons “, announced the Elysium. He assured that he “will remain in contact” with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky as well as the director general of the IAEA Rafael Grossi. The Head of State will “talk again” to his Russian counterpart “in the coming days, so that an agreement can be reached guaranteeing the safety of the plant”, added the French presidency in a press release.
During this interview, Vladimir Putin had warned of “catastrophic consequences” due to “regular Ukrainian attacks against the sites of the Zaporizhia power plant, including the deposit of radioactive waste”, according to a press release from the Kremlin.
He did so with “measures taken by Russian specialists to ensure the safety of the plant and underlined the need to put pressure on the authorities of kyiv so that the bombardments targeting the plant stop immediately”. The two leaders also expressed their willingness to “cooperate in a depoliticized manner on the situation around the Zaporizhia power plant, with the participation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)”, according to the Kremlin press release. .
Ukraine announced in the morning the shutdown of the sixth and last reactor in operation. This decision was taken after the restoration, Saturday evening, of the power supply outside the plant. If a cold shutdown is “the safest state” for the reactor, for the Ukrainian operator Energoatom, the establishment of a demilitarized zone around the plant is the only way to ensure its safety. He wants peacekeepers to come.
“Very worrying” situation
Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky had again exchanged by telephone on Saturday about the “very worrying” situation around the power plant, had indicated the Elysée. A “disaster” in Zaporijjia would threaten the whole of Europe, according to the Ukrainian president.
Both had expressed their support for the work of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
During this call, Emmanuel Macron also “condemned the continuation of Russian military operations in Ukraine and recalled his demand that they cease as soon as possible, that negotiations begin and that sovereignty and territorial integrity be restored. of Ukraine”, according to the Elysée.