“The situation is serious,” the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) told the UN Security Council on Thursday, demanding access to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant that Moscow and kyiv accuse each other of having bombed.
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“The situation is serious and the IAEA must be authorized to carry out its mission in Zaporijjia as quickly as possible”, declared Rafael Grossi, speaking on video during this emergency meeting of the Security Council.
“Time is running out,” he insisted, as the IAEA has been trying for weeks to send a mission to inspect the plant.
The site of the Zaporijjia power plant, the largest in Europe, under Russian control since the beginning of March, was again bombed on Thursday.
Spokesman for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, when asked about accusations pointing to UN responsibility for the delay in sending the IAEA mission there, again rejected this idea on Thursday.
“This is a nuclear power plant in the middle of a battlefield. I think we can imagine at least two or three pages of obstacles,” noted Stéphane Dujarric.
To guarantee the security of the site and allow an inspection mission, Antonio Guterres and the United States called on Thursday for the establishment of a demilitarized zone around the plant.
“Unfortunately, instead of a de-escalation, even more disturbing incidents have been reported in recent days, incidents which, if continued, could lead to a catastrophe,” Antonio Guterres said in a statement.