As Russia and Ukraine blame each other of endangering the safety of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in central Ukraine, a pro-Russian local official told Russian state news agency that the UN’s proposal to demilitarize the site is “an irresponsible statement.”
“This is out of the question. This is an irresponsible statement. A person who either does not understand the risks, or, on the contrary, understands and pushes for tragedy and irreparable consequences, could offer to leave the nuclear power plant unprotected and in danger. Such a statement calls into question the level of competence of the UN Secretary-General,” Vladimir Rogov told RIA Novosti.
UN chief Antonio Guterres called for the demilitarization of the vast nuclear plant after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Lviv on Thursday.
“Further deployment of forces or equipment to the site must be avoided. The area needs to be demilitarized,” Guterres said.
Russian military personnel and some equipment have been based at the nuclear plant since it was occupied early in March.
