Russia rejects calls to demilitarize Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

Ukraine’s demands to completely demilitarize the area surrounding the Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactor in southern Ukraine have been rejected by Russia.

A Russian official claimed the action would increase the plant’s vulnerability.

As both sides accuse each other of bombing the area, the security of the complex, which is Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, is a big concern.

According to the BBC, the factory is run by Ukrainian employees and has been in Russian hands since March.

It was one of the first places captured by Russian forces after invading Ukraine on February 24.

Read also | UN chief Antonio Guterres calls for Russian-occupied nuclear power plant not to be cut off from Ukrainian grid

After meeting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday in Lviv, UN Secretary General António Guterres sounded the alarm.

Mr Guterres warned that any potential harm to Zaporizhzhia would be suicide.

The largest nuclear power plant in Europe must be demilitarized, pleaded the Ukrainian president to the UN. The facility “must not be used in connection with any military activity,” Mr. Guterres continued.

The UN chief’s concerns were echoed by Mr Erdogan, who told reporters he was concerned about the possibility of “another Chernobyl tragedy” at the plant.

The calls come as Ukrainian employees at the site, who work there under Russian direction, have expressed concern about a possible nuclear accident there, saying that over the past two weeks the facility has “the object of constant military attack”.

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