The UN must ensure the safety of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, occupied by Russian troops and the target of several recent bombings, because otherwise there could be “catastrophic consequences for the whole world,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said after a meeting in Lviv with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Reuters writes.

Zelensky wrote in Telegram that he and Guterres discussed a UN-brokered agreement to unblock Ukrainian ports to avoid aggravating the world food crisis, but “paid special attention to the topic of Russian nuclear blackmail” at the Zaporizhia NPP.

• “This deliberate terror on the part of the aggressor can have catastrophic consequences for the whole world.
• Therefore, the UN must ensure the security of this strategic object, its demilitarization and complete liberation from Russian troops,” Zelenskyy wrote.

Kyiv accuses Moscow, whose forces seized the nuclear plant in March, of using it as a shield to bomb Ukrainian targets, while Russia says Ukraine is beginning a bombing campaign around Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.

Also on Thursday, the Ministry of Defense of Russia announced that the Zaporizhia NPP could be stopped if Ukrainian troops continue to bomb the facility.

The head of Russia’s anti-radiation, chemical and biological defense forces, Ihor Kirillov, said that the plant’s backup systems were damaged during the bombing.

He also said that in the event of an accident at the nuclear power plant, radioactive material will cover Germany, Poland and Slovakia.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg considers it “urgent” to conduct an “inspection” by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at Ukraine’s Zaporizhia NPP.

The occupation of the station by Russian soldiers “poses a serious threat to its security and increases the risk of a nuclear accident or incident (…) It is necessary to urgently authorize an IAEA inspection and achieve the withdrawal of all Russian forces from there”, NATO Head Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday

Russian control over Zaporizhzhia “endangers the population of Ukraine, neighboring countries and the entire international community,” he stressed after meeting with Serbian President Aleksandr Vučić.

The recent strikes on the station, sparking fears of a nuclear disaster, led to a meeting of the UN Security Council last week, with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi pleading for a mission to be sent to the site “as soon as possible”. for site inspection.

Read also:

• How radioactive material from the Zaporizhzhya NPP would spread across Europe in the event of an accident / Modeling was done by Ukrainians – VIDEO

• What do we know about the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and what is the greatest danger for the Zaporizhia reactors
• Can Zaporizhia be the Fukushima of Europe? “Now a nuclear disaster has been averted by a miracle, but miracles don’t last forever”