At a press conference on Friday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was asked whether a possible accident or sabotage at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhia nuclear power plant would lead to the passage of a radioactive cloud. in NATO countries, can be considered an attack and therefore can trigger Article 5 of the NATO Treaty on Collective Defense, according to which an attack on one member is an attack on all, News.ro reports with reference to The Guardian.

The question arose in the context of the fact that last month two US senators, one Democrat and one Republican, introduced a resolution proposing to consider the possible destruction of a nuclear installation, which would lead to the penetration of radioactive elements into the territory of NATO member states. the attack on NATO and the basis for the application of Article 5 of the Washington Treaty.

“We strongly welcome the fact that the IAEA is closely monitoring (the situation in Zaporizhzhia is not) and that its experts are monitoring the situation. The IAEA has a mandate and we support it. This is a big challenge in a war zone. Russia bears a special responsibility. The best signal from NATO and the IAEA is that Russia should not attack from the power plant. We continue to call on Russia to withdraw from this facility,” Jens Stoltenberg said, avoiding a specific question about Article 5.

Last month, a resolution was introduced in the US Senate that proposes to consider the actions of Russia, Belarus “or a representative of Russia” as an attack on NATO if their actions lead to radioactive contamination of the territory of the allies. The resolution was introduced by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Democrat Richard Blumenthal.

They argued that it is unprecedented since the collapse of the USSR that Russia has moved its nuclear weapons beyond its borders to Belarus, posing a serious threat to global security amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. It is also clear from the text that the second reason for introducing the resolution is the unpredictable situation at the Zaporizhia NPP, which is under the control of the Russian occupation forces.

Graham and Blumenthal proposed that any use of tactical nuclear weapons by the Russian Federation, Belarus “or a Russian proxy” or the destruction of a nuclear installation that would lead to the penetration of radioactive elements into the territory of NATO member states, causing serious damage, would be considered an attack on the Alliance and an argument to launch Article 5.

Recently, Russia and Ukraine accused each other of preparing an attack on the Zaporizhzhia plant. While the Ukrainians said they had discovered what appeared to be explosive devices installed by the Russians on two of the plant’s six reactors, Moscow claimed it also knew when the planned sabotage by the Ukrainians would take place: the night of July 5. .

However, after days of international tension and concern, Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, General Kyrylo Budanov, said in an interview with Reuters on Thursday that the threat of a Russian attack on Europe’s largest nuclear power plant appeared to be diminishing, but warned that the risk could return at any time. moment, while the installation remains under the occupation of Moscow forces.

“The threat is receding,” said Budanov, who is the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, refusing to specify how he was able to confirm this.

“I’m sorry that I can’t tell you what happened recently, but it’s certain that the threat is decreasing,” Budanov said. “This means that at least we all together, with joint efforts somehow postponed the technological catastrophe,” he added. “It’s not eliminated. As long as the station is busy, it can happen again at any time if they want to,” he added. (News.ro)