TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
IAEA warns of 'severe danger' if Ukrainian nuclear reactors hit
"IAEA Director General @RafaelMGrossi speaks with #Ukraine PM Denys Shmygal and with Ukrainian nuclear regulator and operator about serious situation at #Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, appeals for halt of use of force and warns of severe danger if reactors hit," the International Atomic Energy Agency tweeted.
Change Size
A photograph taken on December 8, 2020 shows a graffiti on a building wall on the central square of the ghost town of Pripyat, not far from Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (AFP/Genya Savilov)
T
he UN's atomic watchdog urged Russian forces to stop attacking a Ukrainian nuclear power plant on Friday, warning of "severe danger" if the reactors were hit.
"IAEA Director General @RafaelMGrossi speaks with #Ukraine PM Denys Shmygal and with Ukrainian nuclear regulator and operator about serious situation at #Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, appeals for halt of use of force and warns of severe danger if reactors hit," the International Atomic Energy Agency tweeted.
Earlier on Thursday, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog passed a resolution Thursday urging Russia to "cease all actions" at Ukraine's nuclear facilities, including the site of the Chernobyl disaster, following the invasion.
The resolution at the board of the governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also "deplores the Russian Federation's actions in Ukraine, including forcefully seizing control of nuclear facilities and other violent actions," according to a copy of the text sent to AFP.
A diplomatic source said the resolution passed by a large majority, with 28 countries in favour and only Russia and China voting against.
India, Pakistan, Senegal, South Africa, and Vietnam abstained, according to the source.
The Chinese ambassador to the UN in Vienna Wang Qun said in a statement that the resolution had "obviously gone beyond the IAEA's mandate by introducing many politicised elements".
His Russian counterpart Mikhail Ulyanov similarly said in a tweet that the text "abuses (the) extremely important topic of nuclear safety and security for purely political purposes".
Ukraine has four active nuclear power plants, providing about half the country's electricity, as well as nuclear waste stores such as the one at Chernobyl.
On Monday, Grossi said he had received reports that Russian soldiers were close to the Zaporizhzhia station in eastern Ukraine, the country's largest.
Poland and Canada had requested the meeting, which began Wednesday, and proposed the resolution.
Chernobyl was the site of the worst nuclear accident in history in 1986 and last Thursday the site fell to Russian troops.
On Wednesday, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi called for an immediate end to the conflict at the meeting, saying this was "the best action to ensure the safety and security of Ukraine's nuclear facilities".
