Foreign Ministry of Ukraine on Russian attack on Zaporizhzhia power plant: Hitting an operating reactor equivalent to detonating an atomic bomb
IRYNA BALACHUK – FRIDAY, 5 AUGUST 2022, 21:32
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has strongly condemned the Russian attacks on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in Enerhodar that took place on 5 August.
Source: statement on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Quote: "[…] against the backdrop of the cynical video address released by the president of the Russian Federation at the Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, [in which he claimed] that the Russian Federation has no intention to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, Russia has resorted to numerous provocations at the nuclear facility."
"The possible consequences of hitting an operating reactor are equivalent to the use of an atomic bomb."
Details: The Foreign Ministry recalled that in the beginning of August, Russian forces moved military trucks and SUVs filled with weapons to the premises of the 1st and 2nd blocks of the ZNPP, which are currently being serviced. On 5 August, the Russian forces used artillery to shell the territory near the ZNPP.
A high-voltage power supply line of the ZNPP and the Zaporizhzhia Thermal Power Plant was damaged following three strikes.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called on the international community to urgently take measures to force Russia to liberate the ZNPP and to ensure Ukraine has full control over it, "for the sake of the security of the whole world".
Background:
- Energoatom has reported two Russian attacks on the ZNPP on Friday, 5 August. During the first attack, three strikes were recorded near the industrial site and a high-voltage power line was hit.
- Later, Russian forces attacked the ZNPP using MLRS (multiple launch rocket systems), striking an area near a power block containing a nuclear reactor.
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