German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, US President Joseph Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday, August 21, spoke by phone. Participants in the conversation stressed the importance of ensuring the safety of nuclear facilities in Ukraine, said German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit.

The leaders of the four countries agreed that support for Ukraine in defending that country from Russian aggression would continue. The German Chancellor, the US President, the French President and the British Prime Minister discussed the situation at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) and called for military containment in the region, and also called for an early visit to the ZNPP by representatives of the International Agency for Atomic Energy (IAEA).

Another topic of discussion was the situation in the Middle East, including negotiations on a nuclear deal with Iran, as well as Tehran’s behavior in the region, Hebeshtreit said.

The situation around the ZNPP

Russian troops took over the Zaporozhye nuclear plant in early March, after which Ukrainian personnel continued to work at the plant. Since the end of July, the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, which is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, has been subjected to regular bombing, and there have also been reports in the media about it being mined by Russian troops. The IAEA warned of the risk of a nuclear catastrophe. The head of the international agency, Rafael Grossi, at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in August, demanded immediate access to the plant from its experts.