Conflicts & War

Ukraine says Russia endangers Europe by using Zaporizhzhia as military base

Lviv, Ukraine, Aug 28 (EFE).- Ukraine’s foreign minister on Sunday accused Russia of endangering the entire European continent by converting the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant into a military base.

“For decades, nuclear safety has remained Ukraine’s top priority, especially given our tragic past. Russian invaders turned Zaporizhzhya NPP into a military base putting the entire continent at risk. Russian military must get out of the plant — they have nothing to do there!” Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter.

On Saturday both Kyiv and Moscow accused each other of shelling near the plant.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has called on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to send a mission to Europe’s largest nuclear power station.

“I’m determined to personally lead an IAEA mission to the plant in the next few days to help stabilize the nuclear safety and security situation there,” IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, said on Thursday

The plant, which has been under Russian occupation since March, was disconnected from the Ukrainian power grid Thursday after a fire broke out at the ash pits of a nearby coal plant.

The fire, which Ukraine blames on Russia, damaged the last operating transmission line connecting the plant to the grid and shuttered the plant for the first time since it opened in 1985.

Kuleba’s warning came as droves of Ukrainians unfurled a giant flag during an intervention dubbed “Ukraine is united” on a bridge in Kyiv.

A 430-meter-long flag of Ukraine was draped across the bridge connecting the left and right banks of the Dnieper River in an action to represent the unity of Ukraine’s people despite the war. EFE

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