That's alarming. <<Russia has rejected calls from the United Nations for a demilitarized zone around Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which has been occupied by Moscow’s forces since early March and lies in a region of Ukraine that is set to become a new frontline of the war. Russia’s permanent representative to the body, Vasily Nebenzya, told Interfax on Friday that Moscow must “protect” the Zaporizhzhia plant. A withdrawal of its troops would make the facility “vulnerable … to provocations and terrorist attacks,” he said.
The UN secretary general, António Guterres, had earlier called for all military personnel and equipment to be pulled out, saying the plant “should not be used as part of any military operations” and a demilitarized zone needed to be agreed to. Both the United States and France backed Guterres’ appeal. Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said that officials must visit the plant as soon as possible. “This is a serious hour, a grave hour,” Grossi told the UN security council. ... Ukraine’s Energoatom agency, whose workers still operate the plant under Russian occupation, said it was struck five times on Thursday, including near where radioactive materials are stored. Kyiv said Russian troops struck it themselves, and were also using the plant as a shield to provide cover while they bombard nearby Ukrainian-held towns and cities. “The Ukrainian armed forces do not damage the infrastructure [of the plant], do not strike where there may be a danger on a global scale,” the army spokesperson Natalia Humeniuk told national television. “We understand that the invaders are hiding behind such a shield because it is not possible to strike there.” Earlier this week, Ukraine accused Russia of firing rockets from around the captured plant, killing at least 13 people and wounding 10, in the knowledge it would be too dangerous for Ukraine to return fire. ... Grossi said he was ready to lead an international expert mission to inspect the site in south-eastern Ukraine and called on Russia and Ukraine to cooperate so officials could travel as soon as possible. “Time is of the essence,” he told the 15-member security council late on Thursday, adding that the agency could perform urgent work on safeguards and provide a stabilizing influence in order “to prevent a nuclear accident.”>> (Excerpted from: < https://thebulletin.org/2022/08/russia-says-nyet-to-un-calls-for-dmz-around-ukrainian-nuclear-plant/ >.) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/greenyouth/CACEsOZj3tT7TyvzzMWL%3DUC10_aFYixCkCrvkQcmukvfDB_FE%2Bg%40mail.gmail.com.
