Russia has rejected calls from the United Nations, EU, G7, and Ukraine for the area surrounding the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine to be completely demilitarized.
The largest nuclear power plant in Europe, Zaporizhzhia, has been under Russian military control since March of this year, when Russia began its invasion of Ukraine.
After meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Lviv on Thursday, UN Secretary General António Guterres made the call.
Guterres cautioned that any potential harm to Zaporizhzhia would be suicide.
The facility “must not be used as part of any military operation,” Guterres continued.
Erdogan of Turkey expressed similar worries to the UN chief, telling reporters that he was concerned about the possibility of “another Chernobyl” disaster erupting at the plant. According to Erdovan, the area could be made safer if both parties demilitarized it.
Zelensky then criticized “deliberate” Russian attacks on the power plant, charging Moscow with converting the structure into a military outpost.
Ivan Nechayev, the deputy director of the information and press division of the Russian foreign ministry, declined the invitation.
According to Nechayev, their implementation will increase the plant’s vulnerability.
The appeals come as Russian-directed Ukrainian workers at the plant have expressed concern about a possible nuclear accident there, claiming that over the past two weeks, they have been “the target of continuous military attacks.”
Staff from Zaporizhzhia stated in a Telegram post that “what is happening is horrific and defies morality” (in Ukrainian).
Shelling has damaged three of the four power supply lines connecting the plant to the Ukrainian national grid, and Ukraine’s nuclear regulator has issued a warning that a complete loss of power supply would result in “the melting of nuclear fuel and the release of radioactive materials into the environment.”
Despite worries, it is claimed that the location is much safer than the Chernobyl plant, the scene of the worst nuclear accident in history.
According to military experts, the reactor is housed in a steel-reinforced concrete structure that can “withstand extreme external events, both natural and man-made, such as an aircraft crash or explosions.”
