Prime Minister of Ukraine and President of France opened an event on the safety of civilian nuclear facilities amid armed conflict

Nuclear terrorism is not a problem of Ukraine, it is a planetary-scale threat. Until now, humanity has not encountered anything like that. Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal emphasized in a statement at an event on the safety of civilian nuclear facilities amid an armed conflict, which took place on the sidelines of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly.

The event was also attended by President of France Emmanuel Macron, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany Annalena Baerbock, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of Great Britain James Cleverly, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba and IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.

Denys Shmyhal emphasized that since February 24, entire Europe has become a victim of nuclear terrorism: "Even in their wildest dreams, the civilized world could not imagine that in the 21st century someone would subject nuclear power plants to a massive attack. But today the russian troops are holding the cocked gun at the head of the whole world."

As the Head of the Ukrainian Government emphasized, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, clearly demands the demilitarization of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

"There and in the adjacent 30-kilometer zone there should be no troops, and the personnel should be free to perform their professional duties," emphasized Denys Shmyhal.

According to the Prime Minister of Ukraine, the Director General of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, set forth seven principles of the facility's operation, but none of these points were fulfilled by the russian side.

"The Zaporizhzhia station has been transformed into a powerful military base with an arsenal of weapons. It serves as a human shield for the russians to shell neighboring cities. They know that Ukraine will not shoot back, because it understands its responsibility.

Instead, we can see russians shelling the station, disconnection of the nuclear power plant from the power grid, and threats to cease the operation of power units," Denys Shmyhal noted and emphasized that what is commonplace for russians here can be rather expensive for the whole world.

The Head of the Ukrainian Government emphasized that decisive actions were required, in particular the international mission of the UN and the European Union, which will result in the complete demilitarization of the ZNPP and the surrounding territory, to place it completely under Ukrainian control with the monitoring mission of the IAEA.

As the Prime Minister of Ukraine announced on the outcomes of the event, the IAEA planned to increase the mission to cover all control needs at the station. Rafael Grossi, as noted by the Head of the Ukrainian Government, stated that further control of rf over the station posed great danger. "The Director General of the IAEA added that the agency is at the station at the invitation of the Ukrainian Government and cooperates only with Ukraine and the Ukrainian regulator. And this is an important signal," said Denys Shmyhal.