Russia on Monday accused the Ukrainian forces of being responsible for the bombing of the largest nuclear power plant Ukraine and Europe, and warned of the “catastrophic consequences” it could have for the Old Continent.
The bombing of the facilities of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant “by the Ukrainian armed forces” is “potentially extremely dangerous” and “could have catastrophic consequences for a vast area, including the European territory”, the spokesman for the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov.
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Peskov further stated that Russia hopes that Western countries that have influence over the Ukrainian authorities will use it to stop attacks on the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant facilities, currently under the control of the Russian Army.
“We hope that the countries that have absolute influence on the Ukrainian leadership will use this influence to rule out the continuation of these attacks,” he said at his daily press conference.
Any bombing of this facility is an open and flagrant crime.
After several attacks on the nuclear power plant perpetrated this Friday, the largest of its kind in Europe, Moscow and kyiv accused each other of putting the security of the facility at risk.
In his daily video message, Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky lashed out at Russia, saying “the occupiers created another extremely dangerous situation for all of Europe.”
“Any bombing against this facility is an open and flagrant crime, an act of terror,” he said, insisting on the need to recognize Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism and calling for more sanctions “against the entire Russian nuclear industry, from Rosatom to all related companies and individuals.”
Moscow, which controls this facility practically from the first days of its military campaign in Ukraine, questioned these statements and accused kyiv of promoting “nuclear terrorism”.
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“Ukraine’s attacks on nuclear facilities can be qualified under international law as acts of nuclear terrorism,” Russian Senator Konstantin Kosachev said on Telegram.
The senator pointed out that the attack by the Ukrainian Army against the nuclear power plant at a time when the UN is holding a conference on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons “casts doubt on Ukraine’s compliance with its commitments regarding the security of nuclear facilities.”
The pro-Russian authorities of the Zaporizhia region, partially occupied by the Russian Army, accused the Ukrainian forces on Sunday of attacking the nuclear power plant with their artillery and damaging the power lines and industrial buildings of the plant.
For his part, the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, warned on Monday that any attack on a nuclear plant is “a suicide mission”, referring to the attack on the nuclear plant of Zaporizhiaon which he avoided pointing out those responsible.
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Guterres also gave his support to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its efforts to stabilize the general situation in the area and gain access to the nuclear plant.
The director of the IAEA, the Argentine Rafael Grossi, was willing in June to visit the plant under Russian control, but Ukraine vehemently criticized these plans, considering that the trip by the UN official could mean some kind of legitimization of the Russian occupation. .
Any attack on a nuclear plant is “a suicide mission”
And the Ukrainian company Energoatom denounced on Monday what it called “blackmail” by Russian troops for the mining of the Zaporizhia nuclear plant and the threat of blowing up the facility.
The public company that operates the Ukrainian nuclear power plants assured on Telegram that the eventual blasting of the plant is an attempt by the Russian troops to warn against the “consequences” that the recovery by the Ukrainian Army of territories invaded by Russia would have, such as that of the atomic power plant.
According to Energoatom, Russian General Valery Vasilyev, who commands the troops occupying the nuclear plant, gave an account of Russia’s intentions when he said the site “will either be Russian land or a scorched desert.”
*With information from AFP and Efe
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