Russian invasion
Moscow again warns of catastrophe at Zaporizhia nuclear plant
The situation around Europe’s largest nuclear power plant remains tense. photo
© Uncredited/Russian Defense Ministry Press Service/AP/dpa
For days, Ukraine and Russia have been accusing each other of shelling the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. The consequences of a catastrophe could be felt worldwide, Moscow is now emphasizing.
Moscow has again warned of a catastrophe around the Ukrainian nuclear power plant Zaporizhia, which is occupied by Russian troops. The Ukrainian military is firing at the nuclear plant with weapons supplied by the United States, Russian National Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said on Friday in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent, according to the Interfax agency.
“If there is a disaster, the consequences will be felt in all corners of the world. The responsibility will lie with Washington, London and their cronies,” he told a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
For days, the Russian and Ukrainian leaders have been blaming each other for the shelling of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. They repeatedly warn of the danger of a nuclear catastrophe. Russia rejects international demands to demilitarize the nuclear power plant – officially on the grounds that the government in Kyiv cannot ensure the safety of the nuclear facilities because of the war.
Situation around nuclear power plants still tense
The warring parties had also warned of possible provocations around the nuclear power plant on Friday. However, initially there were no new reports of the shelling of the power plants. The situation around the nuclear power plant is tense. It is planned that experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will soon get an idea of the situation in the power plant. However, a date has not been set. Russia’s representative at the international organizations in Vienna, the diplomat Mikhail Ulyanov, said on Friday that the IAEA trip to Ukraine could possibly take place at the beginning of September.
The West is preparing for an open military conflict with Russia, Patrushev claimed in Tashkent. At the same time, the West repeatedly emphasizes that it will deliver weapons to Ukraine, but will not allow itself to be drawn into a war with Russia. Patrushev accused the West of setting up a “puppet regime” in Ukraine after the fall of pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych in 2014 for anti-Russian policies. Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24 – also on the grounds that he was striving for a new balance of power in Ukraine.