Ukraine again urges world to end Russia’s nuclear blackmail at occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Ministry (MFA) has renewed its serious call for the immediate evacuation of Russian occupying troops at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, following explosion and shelling at the ZNPP station, Europe’s largest by capacity. 

The MFA has consistently warned the world of a growing danger of a continental-scale nuclear disaster due to Russia’s ongoing military presence at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. 

The latest reports of shelling near the plant for Ukrainian serve as a painful reminder of Russia’s long-standing strategy of using nuclear infrastructure as a weapon of intimidation and leverage. 

The call follows a recent statement from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi who on Aug. 6 confirmed that inspectors heard more than an hour of artillery fire near the spent fuel storage facility during a routine visit. 

“By using the largest nuclear power plant in Europe as cover, the aggressor launches strikes against peaceful Ukrainian cities and villages, fully aware that any military response in the direction of the plant is constrained due to the unprecedented risk of a nuclear accident,” the ministry said in a statement.

“Similar shelling in the past has already damaged critical infrastructure,” the ministry said, including multiple external power lines essential for the plant’s basic operations.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry said that each such incident “brings us closer to the brink of a continental-scale tragedy.”

Ukraine is urging international partners to increase pressure on the Russian Federation to immediately demilitarize and liberate the Zaporizhzhia plant and return it to the full control of its legitimate operator, Ukraine’s state-owned Energoatom.