“Playing with fire” is what the UN nuclear regulator calls the renewed shelling of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is asking NATO for help in protecting the site and warning of a dwindling support for his country.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on NATO to protect the country’s nuclear power plants from Russian sabotage. “All states have an interest in ensuring that there are no dangerous incidents at our nuclear facilities,” he said. “We all need protection against Russian sabotage in nuclear facilities.” The Russian-occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant was shelled at the weekend. The head of the UN nuclear regulator warned of new attacks. Those who shot at the power plant were “playing with fire,” said IAEA chief Rafael Grossi. Russia and Ukraine blamed each other.
Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency have meanwhile examined the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant for damage. This was announced by the adviser to the Russian nuclear power plant operator Rosenergoatom, Renat Karchaa, according to the state news agency Tass. The experts could have visited all objects of interest to them. The IAEA initially gave no information about the inspection or the results.
Zelenskyy warned the international community not to buckle on Kiev’s side. “I call on you to do everything to ensure that our community is never weakened,” Zelenskyj said. In a video address at a plenary session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Madrid, he added that everyone can see what contribution Ukraine is making to the security of all democracies with its fight against Russian aggression.
Zelenskyj asked again for more anti-aircraft weapons. He also called on all parliaments of the 30 NATO member countries to brand Russia a “terrorist state”. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned against easing support for Ukraine. He knows that many people are suffering from rising energy and food costs. But an even higher price will be paid if Russia wins. “Authoritarian regimes around the world will learn to use brute force to get what they want,” Stoltenberg warned. The world would be even more unsafe.
Stoltenberg also expects defense spending to rise above the current target of two percent of gross domestic product. He expects that the two percent target will in future represent a lower limit rather than an upper limit, he said. “Everyone now sees the need for more spending.”