Chief UN nuclear monitor called for an immediate stop to fighting that risks a radiation disaster

On August 11, the Russian military shelled the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant four times. Five “hits” were recorded in the area of the commandant’s office of the station – right next to the welding area and the storage of radiation spent sources, as reported by the state enterprise Enerhoatom in Telegram.

As alarm grew this week the State Department said the United States supported a demilitarized zone around the nuclear plant. That danger also prompted a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Thursday.

The New York Times writes that “Mr. Grossi, who has led two missions to Ukrainian nuclear facilities since the war began, urged Russia and Ukraine to cooperate enough to grant him and a team of experts access to the Zaporizhzhia plant, where they could assess the damage and ensure the plant’s safety and continued monitoring”.

Ukraine’s ambassador, Serhii Kyslytsia, accused Russia of trying to divert attention away from strikes that killed Ukrainian civilians in the area, saying it had resorted to dangerous ‘staged shelling’ of the power plant itself.
He said that Ukraine also supported a U.N. mission to the site, but that Russia’s continued shelling against Ukrainian-controlled towns and cities, about five miles away, was preventing it. ‘If Russia stops shelling these cities, what in the world will prevent the mission to cover these five miles?’.

Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, said Russian forces were ready to assist a trip by the nuclear experts. But he also said (continued the propaganda rhetoric – ed.) that the U.N. officials needed to tell Ukraine, which he blamed for artillery and missile attacks against the plant, that it must immediately stop military actions in the area.