KYIV: Russia and Ukraine accusing each other of recent shelling Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on Thursday before a UNSC meeting to address concerns about the facility’s security.
Both Moscow and Kyiv said there had been five missile attacks near a radioactive storage area at the plant, Europe’s largest nuclear facility, which has been the focus of fresh fighting in recent days.
Ukraine’s nuclear agency Energoatom said then there was a new Russian shelling near one of the six reactors, causing “smoke haze” and “several radiation sensors damaged”.
Vladimir Rogov, a member of the regional government installed by Moscow, said on the messaging app Telegram that Ukrainian forces had “once again attacked” the factory.
The factory in Ukraine is under Russian military control, and Ukraine has accused Moscow of placing hundreds of troops and storing weapons there.
The shelling prompted United Nation Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate end to all military activity around the plant, warning that any damage could lead to “catastrophic consequences” in the region and beyond.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia could cause an incident “even more catastrophic than Chernobyl” – a reference to the 1986 nuclear disaster in Soviet Ukraine.
The US State Department later on Thursday said the US supported calls by the United Nations and other organizations to establish a demilitarized zone around the nuclear plant.
Security Council scheduled to meet at 1900 GMT.
Meanwhile, a day after explosions tore through a Russian airbase in Crimea, a series of mysterious explosions late Wednesday hit a military airport used by Russian forces in the east. southern Belarus, near the border with Ukraine. The explosions sparked speculation that Ukraine may have hit the airport in Zyabrovka, just 15 miles north of the border, but the Belarusian Defense Ministry blamed what it said was an accident during testing. Test the new engine on an unknown device.
Both Moscow and Kyiv said there had been five missile attacks near a radioactive storage area at the plant, Europe’s largest nuclear facility, which has been the focus of fresh fighting in recent days.
Ukraine’s nuclear agency Energoatom said then there was a new Russian shelling near one of the six reactors, causing “smoke haze” and “several radiation sensors damaged”.
Vladimir Rogov, a member of the regional government installed by Moscow, said on the messaging app Telegram that Ukrainian forces had “once again attacked” the factory.
The factory in Ukraine is under Russian military control, and Ukraine has accused Moscow of placing hundreds of troops and storing weapons there.
The shelling prompted United Nation Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate end to all military activity around the plant, warning that any damage could lead to “catastrophic consequences” in the region and beyond.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia could cause an incident “even more catastrophic than Chernobyl” – a reference to the 1986 nuclear disaster in Soviet Ukraine.
The US State Department later on Thursday said the US supported calls by the United Nations and other organizations to establish a demilitarized zone around the nuclear plant.
Security Council scheduled to meet at 1900 GMT.
Meanwhile, a day after explosions tore through a Russian airbase in Crimea, a series of mysterious explosions late Wednesday hit a military airport used by Russian forces in the east. southern Belarus, near the border with Ukraine. The explosions sparked speculation that Ukraine may have hit the airport in Zyabrovka, just 15 miles north of the border, but the Belarusian Defense Ministry blamed what it said was an accident during testing. Test the new engine on an unknown device.
