The UN Security Council met urgently on Thursday, at the request of Russia, to discuss the fate of the Zaporizhia power plant, the target of incessant bombing for more than a week and a source of growing concern for the international community.
Invited to speak to the Council by videoconference, the Director General of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, once again stressed the need for his agency to be able to inspect the plant. “The situation is serious and the IAEA must be authorized to carry out its mission in Zaporizhia as soon as possible”he said, quoted by the BBC. “Hurry up”he hammered.
“Russia expressed its support for such a visit”Write the New York Times. The Ukrainian government, on the other hand, “did not officially approve it, perhaps for fear that it would somehow legitimize the occupation of the plant” by Russian forces, adds the daily.
The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, fell into Russian hands in early March, in the early days of the invasion of Ukraine. Its day-to-day operation, however, remains the responsibility of Ukrainian personnel, supervised by Russian soldiers.
“Situation under control”
The Ukrainian nuclear agency Energoatom deplored new bombardments, ensuring that the plant had been hit ten times on Thursday alone. The strikes would have come dangerously close “of the site where the radioactive material is stored”reports Al-Jazeera, “but no one was injured and the situation at the plant remained under control”.
Energoatom naturally accuses Russia of being behind the bombings and of “continue to methodically destroy the infrastructure” of the central. Moscow ensures on the contrary that it is the Ukrainian forces which target the installations.
“A single isolated shell could have disastrous effects”confirm it New York Times. “But between the fighting and the conflicting claims, it’s hard for independent observers to know what’s going on” really in Zaporizhia.
“Nuclear Blackmail”
In unison with the United States, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called for “a demilitarization perimeter” around the site, and called on the belligerents to “common sense” and at the “raison”. “Unfortunately, instead of de-escalation, even more disturbing incidents have been reported in recent days, incidents which, if continued, could lead to a catastrophe”he warned.
In his daily televised address, Volodymyr Zelensky blamed Russia, saying no other country had used a nuclear power plant “to openly threaten the whole world”reports Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty (RFE-RL). “Absolutely everyone should react immediately to expel the occupier from Zaporizhia”added the Ukrainian President.
In an analysis published this week, The evening explained that “Ukrainian authorities fear that Russian forces will use nuclear security blackmail to prevent a Kyiv counteroffensive in the region, expected in the coming months”.
The Zaporizhia power plant would act as “nuclear shield, which they would use to stockpile their artillery and prevent the Ukrainians from attacking, while forcing allied countries of Ukraine to stop arms deliveries to avoid a nuclear catastrophe”according to the Brussels daily.