Ukrainian Foreign Ministry calls on the world to force Russia to leave Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after recent events

This is noted in the statement of the department.

The Ministry emphasized that the possible consequences of hitting an operating reactor are equivalent to the use of an atomic bomb.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemns the actions of the Russian occupying forces on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia NPP seized in the city of Energodar on August 5, 2022. In particular, against the background of the cynical video statement of the President of the Russian Federation at the Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons that the Russian Federation has no intention to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, Russia arranged  numerous provocations at the nuclear facility", it is noted. 

According to the press service, Russia has introduced troops and SUVs filled with weapons into the premises of the 1st and 2nd units of the ZNPP since the beginning of August 2022. On August 5, numerous Russian artillery shelling of the territory took place.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine calls on the international community to urgently take measures to force Russia to leave the ZNPP and hand over the power plant to the control of Ukraine for the sake of the security of the whole world", the Ministry of Foreign Affairs added.

On August 5, at about 2:30 p.m., the Russian military shelled the Zaporizhzhia NPP three times. They aimed at a high-voltage communication line. Emergency protection was activated at one of the power units, and diesel generators were switched on. This unit is currently unloaded and disconnected from the power grid.

In the evening of August 5, three more strikes were on the territory of Zaporizhzhia NPP. The impact occurred near a power unit with a nuclear reactor. There is a risk of sputtering of radioactive substances.