The Ukraine War is leading to another ‘Chernobyl’ like situation, as the war in Ukraine, get near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant in southern Ukraine. This has led to “grave alarm,” according to UN Secretary General António Guterres.
During a meeting in Lviv with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, he made the remarks.
Mr. Guterres emphasised that any potential harm to Zaporizhzhia would be suicide.
Since Kyiv was attacked by rockets during Mr. Guterres’ visit in April, Mr. Zelensky and Mr. Guterres hadn’t spoken.
Ukraine War: Nuclear Plant Destruction can be catastrophic
The UN chief’s worries were mirrored by Mr. Erdogan, who told reporters that he was concerned about the possibility of “another Chernobyl” tragedy erupting at the plant.
In recent weeks, the area around the facility, which Russia occupied in March, has come under heavy artillery fire, with both Kiev and Moscow blaming the other for the strikes.
Mr. Zelensky criticised “deliberate” Russian strikes on the power facility ahead of the meeting on Thursday.
All three presidents urged the Russians to demilitarise the area as quickly as possible after accusing Moscow of converting the site into an army base.
Meanwhile, local sources in the Russian occupied Crimean Peninsula reported a number of large explosions near the Belbek military airport.
Later on Thursday, an official Twitter channel used by the Ukrainian government said that members of Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, had “urgently” left the facility, and an “unexpected day off” had been announced.
“Ukrainian intelligence officers believe that the Russians are preparing a provocation at the [facility],” Ukraine’s Centre for Information security tweeted.
“Following their extensive shelling… [Russian forces] could ‘raise the stakes’ and stage a real terrorist attack on Europe’s largest nuclear facility,” it said.
