Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has called on the West to impose new sanctions on Russia, saying inaction could backfire if heavy shelling leads to a “catastrophe” at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.
He used his nightly address to issue a stark warning to Europe that it would not be able to escape the consequences of a disaster at the continent’s largest nuclear site. Russian and Ukrainian officials have traded blame for shelling near plant in southern Ukraine, which has led to fears of a calamity similar to that at Chernobyl in 1986.
Mr Zelenskyy also warned Russian troops that if they attack the site in the now Russian-controlled city of Enerhodar, or use it as a base to shoot from, they risk becoming a “special target”.READ MOREWest fears Russia will blow up Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to cause huge catastrophe
“Under the cover of the plant, the occupiers are shelling nearby cities and communities,” he said.
“Any radiation incident at the Zaporizhzhia NPP (nuclear power plant) can affect the countries of the European Union, Turkey, Georgia and countries from more distant regions. Everything depends solely on the direction and speed of the wind.
“If through Russia’s actions a catastrophe occurs, the consequences could hit those who for the moment are silent. If now the world does not show strength and decisiveness to defend one nuclear power station, it will mean that the world has lost.”
He urged foreign leaders to adopt “new tough sanctions against Russia” and not to be deterred by “nuclear blackmail” from Moscow.
“All Russian troops must be immediately withdrawn from the plant and neighbouring areas without any conditions,” he added.
Vladimir Rogov, a Russia-installed official in Enerhodar, claimed on Monday that about 25 heavy artillery strikes from US-made M777 howitzers had landed close to the nuclear plant and residential areas during a two-hour period.
Russia’s Interfax news agency, quoting the press service of Enerhodar’s Russian-appointed administration, said Ukrainian forces had opened fire, with blasts near the power plant. But according to the head of the administration of the Nikopol district, which lies across the Dnipro river from Enerhodar and remains under Ukrainian control, it was Russian forces that had shelled the city to try to make it appear that Ukraine was attacking it.
“The Russians think they can force the world to comply with their conditions by shelling the Zaporizhzhia NPP,” Andriy Yermak, chief of the Ukrainian presidential staff, wrote on Twitter.
A UN spokesman said the global body has the logistics and security capacity to support a visit by International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, but a Russian diplomat has imposed conditions.
Stephane Dujarric said that “in close contact with the IAEA, the UN Secretariat has assessed that it has in Ukraine the logistics and security capacity to be able to support any IAEA mission to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant from Kyiv”.
He said both Russia and Ukraine would have to agree to the mission.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu held a phone call with Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary general, to discuss conditions for the safe functioning of the plant, the ministry said on Monday.
But a senior diplomat in Moscow was quoted by a Russian news agency as saying that such a trip could not include passage through Kyiv.
“Imagine what it means to pass through Kyiv — it means they get to the nuclear plant through the front line,” Igor Vishnevetsky, deputy head of the foreign ministry’s nuclear proliferation and arms control department, told RIA.