U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said that International inspectors should be given access to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, after Ukraine and Russia have exchanged accusations of shelling the facility in recent days, informs broadcaster Voice of America (VOA)
Any attack on a nuclear plant «is a suicidal thing,» Secretary-General told a news conference in Japan.
Guterres alsos added that he is «very worried that we might have a prolonged war» in Ukraine that could have «a very negative impact in the global economy and in the living conditions especially of the most vulnerable people.»
U.N. Secretary-General said the United Nations has been working with Turkey on the possible start of peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, but the effort is stymied by the complexity of the conflict.
Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations, Yevhenii Tsymbaliuk, said employees at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear complex are «working under the barrels of Russian guns.»
Speaking in Vienna, Tsymbaliuk appealed for the nuclear facility to be declared a demilitarized zone to prevent a Chernobyl-style catastrophe.
In his daily video address Monday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for new Western sanctions on Russia’s nuclear industry «for creating the threat of a nuclear disaster.»
Meanwhile, Russia claimed that Ukrainian forces hit the site with a multiple rocket launcher, damaging administrative buildings and a storage area. The Russian Foreign Ministry accused Kyiv of attempting to «take Europe hostage» by shelling the plant.
Tsymbaliuk said, «If something happens, so there will be huge consequences not only for Ukraine, probably all Ukraine will be contaminated, but for Europe as well.»
Tsymbaliuk said Kyiv would use all the diplomatic channels it can to allow an international mission to the plant.
Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency said Moscow is ready to facilitate a visit of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to the Zaporizhzhia plant.
In the most recent attack on the nuclear facility Saturday night, August 6, Ukraine’s state nuclear power firm said Russian forces damaged three radiation sensors.
The plant, in Russian-controlled territory, was also attacked Friday. Moscow has blamed Ukrainian forces for the strikes.
Russia captured the Zaporizhzhia plant in early March in the opening stages of its invasion of Ukraine, but the facility is still run by Ukrainian technicians.