Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the world community must put pressure on Russia to return the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant under full Ukrainian control in order to avoid a radiation disaster at the plant, UNIAN reported, quoted by BTA.
Zelensky made this appeal in "Telegram" on the occasion of the 38th anniversary of the disaster at the Chernobyl NPP.
"Radiation does not recognize borders and does not distinguish national flags. The Chernobyl disaster showed the world how quickly deadly threats can emerge. "Tens of thousands of people, at the cost of their health and lives, stopped the growth of the Chernobyl disaster and eliminated its terrible consequences in 1986 and years later," the president noted.
At the same time, Zelensky recalled that two years ago, the Chernobyl NPP was under Russian occupation for 35 days. "Russian soldiers ransacked the laboratories, captured the guards and abused the staff, used it to launch further military operations," Zelensky said.
He added that for 785 days, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, Zaporizhia, was held hostage by Russian terrorists. "And it is the duty of the whole world to put pressure on Russia so that the Zaporozhye NPP is released and returned to the full control of Ukraine, and all nuclear facilities in Ukraine are protected from Russian strikes," Zelensky stressed.
According to the conviction of the Ukrainian head of state, only this will ensure that the world will not experience new radiation catastrophes – exactly what is a threat every day from the stay of Russian troops at the Zaporizhzhia NPP.
UNIAN recalls that on March 4, 2022, the Russians captured the Zaporizhzhia NPP and the satellite town of Energodar. Since then, Russia has refused to establish a demilitarized zone around the plant.