UN Security Council rejects 'crazy accusations': responsibility for incidents on Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant laid on Russia

At a meeting of the UN Security Council, representatives of the EU, the US and Ukraine have blamed the incidents at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) on Russia, which has occupied the nuclear facility. Source: Ukrinform Details: The Russian Federation bears full responsibility for the nuclear safety risks it creates at the seized Zaporizhzhia NPP, as noted in a statement by the European Union, Ukraine and other European countries read out at a meeting of the UN Security Council by EU Permanent Representative to the UN Stavros Lambrinidis.

The EU Permanent Representative recalled that it was the first time that a country that is a permanent member of the UN Security Council illegally seized a nuclear power plant of one of its neighbours.

Robert Wood, Deputy Permanent Representative of the United States to the UN, said that the control of the Russian occupation forces over the Zaporizhzhia NPP, as well as the operation of the power plant by unqualified personnel, increase the safety risks to a large nuclear facility in Ukraine. Serhii Kyslytsia, Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the UN, said that the Russian Federation is trying to blame Ukraine for the attacks on ZNPP, hoping to remove the issue of plant liberation from the agenda. Quote from Kyslytsia: "The only root cause of all nuclear safety risks is Russia's unprovoked and unjustified aggressive war against Ukraine."

More details: What happened at ZNPP on 7 and 9 April 2024 and afterwards was a well-planned false flag operation by the Russian Federation, he explained. He said that the attack was aimed at shifting the focus away from the aforementioned root cause and the only way to eliminate all threats to nuclear safety and security, namely the liberation of the plant. Kyslytsia said that Moscow wants to "feed the world the version that nuclear reactors, the protection of which was designed to withstand the strongest attacks, were attacked by low-powered short-range drones", which are designed to hit infantry and small vehicles at a distance of several kilometres.

The increasing militarisation of the station and the surrounding occupied territories remains part of Russia's military strategy, he said. Moscow uses them as a cover for artillery strikes on the territories and settlements on the other side of Dnipro, the permanent representative said. Recently, new footage of Russian soldiers and military equipment in the corridors of the power units has appeared on social media, he added.

Among the violations committed by Russia are the installation of anti-personnel mines around the perimeter of the plant, blocking access to the facility for legitimate management and personnel, disconnecting automated data transmission from the radiation monitoring system, and failing to ensure timely and complete maintenance.

Kyslytsia said that Ukraine categorically rejects the "crazy accusations" that it could cause a nuclear disaster.

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