World is on the brink of a nuclear crisis

Moscow/Kyiv – Russian officials have accused Ukraine of attacking the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia on Thursday. Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, warned that the world is being pushed towards a nuclear crisis due to the irresponsible attacks of Ukraine. The UN has also noted the new attacks seriously and warned that such attacks would lead to a terrible crisis. Secretary-General António Guterres urged Russia and Ukraine to take steps to create a ‘demilitarised zone’ (DMZ or DZ) in the area of nuclear projects. Two days ago, Russia demanded a meeting of the Security Council on the nuclear power plant issue in Zaporizhzhia.

nuclear crisis On Thursday, the Ukrainian military launched two attacks on the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, informed local Russian officials. Five explosions occurred near the project commandant’s office in the first attack. Then five shells hit near the project’s fire station. Both these attacks caused a fire in the project area, Russian official Vladimir Rogov informed. Rogov also claimed that one of these attacks occurred near the ‘radioactive storage’ of the project. In the wake of these attacks, Russia seriously warned at the Security Council meeting.

‘We have repeatedly warned our Western colleagues that, should they fail to talk sense into the Kyiv regime, it would take the most heinous and reckless steps, which would have consequences far beyond Ukraine,’ warned Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations. He also warned that Ukraine’s actions pushed the world toward a nuclear crisis. He added that the Western countries that support Ukraine would be responsible for this. He further warned that an alarming catastrophe might occur in the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia at any moment in the next few days.

Following Russia’s warning, the United Nations has also seriously noted the attacks in Zaporizhzhia. United Nations Secretary-General Guterres released a statement and expressed concern that if the nuclear project is damaged, its dire consequences will be seen in the entire region. Guterres also urged that this project should not be used for any military operation; instead, Russia and Ukraine should take steps to make the area a ‘demilitarised zone’. Leading countries in the Security Council have also recorded reactions to the attacks in Zaporizhzhia. While expressing concern over the attacks, India has said both sides should show restraint.

Ukraine has denied the allegations of the attacks. On the contrary, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, accused Russia of ‘nuclear blackmail’ over the said project. He also claimed that Europe would be safe from nuclear crisis only if Russia withdrew from the region. Russia had seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine weeks following the attack on Ukraine in February. The project is one of the largest nuclear power plants in Europe, including Ukraine, with a capacity as high as staggering 6,000 megawatts. The project has a large stockpile of enriched uranium and nuclear fuel. Currently, the Ukrainian company’s employees have been working on this project.

Last month, Ukraine launched counter-attacks against Russian-held areas in southern Ukraine. Against this background, in the last few days, the issue of the safety of the said nuclear power plant has once again come to the fore. Russia has deployed an army and advanced defence systems on a large scale in this project. Ukrainian forces are said to have targeted the project’s vicinity to push the Russian deployment. However, Ukraine and Western organisations have rejected these claims and said Russia is attacking the project area and laying the fault on Ukraine.

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