The United States supports calls for a “demilitarized zone” around Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, a US State Department spokesman said on Thursday. “Fighting near a nuclear plant is dangerous and irresponsible – and we continue to call on Russia to cease all military operations at or near Ukrainian nuclear facilities and return full control to Ukraine and support Ukraine’s calls for a demilitarized zone around the nuclear power plant. “, the representative said in a statement. Russia is accused of using the nuclear plant as a military base. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week cited reports “that Russia is using this plant as the equivalent of a human shield, but a nuclear shield in the sense that it is firing at Ukraine from around the plant.” “And of course, the Ukrainians cannot and will not fight back, lest there be a terrible accident with a nuclear plant. So this is the height of irresponsibility,” he said. Both Ukraine and Russia have traded blame for attacks. On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia was maximizing the risk of a nuclear disaster at the facility, and the UN secretary-general said he was “gravely concerned about the situation”. “We must be clear that any potential damage to Zaporizhia or any other nuclear facilities in Ukraine, or anywhere else, could lead to catastrophic consequences not only for the immediate vicinity, but for the region and beyond,” said Antonio Guterres in a statement. On Wednesday, G7 foreign ministers demanded that Russia immediately hand over full control to its rightful sovereign owner, Ukraine, of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant as well as all nuclear facilities within Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders. safe and secure operations’. “We remain deeply concerned about the serious threat posed by the seizure of Ukrainian nuclear facilities and other actions by the Russian armed forces to the safety and security of those facilities, significantly increasing the risk of a nuclear accident or incident and endangering the population of Ukraine. neighboring states and the international community,” they said. Radioactivity levels at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant are within normal range despite fresh shelling at the site, Ukraine’s nuclear agency Energoatom said on Thursday.
