NATO Should Discuss Ukraine Nuclear Plant at Summit: Russia
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova said on Sunday that the leaders of the US-led transatlantic NATO defense alliance should discuss Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant at their summit this week.
NATO leaders will meet in Vilnius on Tuesday and Wednesday to tackle a wide range of topics, Reuters reported.
These range from divisions over Ukraine’s membership bid and Sweden’s accession to boosting ammunition stockpiles and reviewing the first defense plans in decades.
Accusing Ukraine of “systematic infliction of damage” to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Zakharova said that “the NATO summit’s key attention should be devoted to it”.
“After all, the vast majority of the alliance members will be in the direct impact zone” (if something were to happen at the plant), she said on the Telegram messaging app.
Vilnius is some 1,000km from the nuclear plant, which is Europe’s largest.
Both Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of planning to attack the plant, which is located on Russian-held territory in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, near the front line of Russia’s conflict with Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has for days warned of the grave threat at the facility, most recently saying Russian forces had mined the roof of several reactors.
The International Atomic Energy Agency experts based at the plant said they had yet to observe any indications of mines or explosives at the plant, but they also needed more access to be sure.
