12 Jul. () –
The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday approved a resolution calling on Russia to “urgently withdraw” its military and “other unauthorized personnel” from the Zaporizhia nuclear plant and to “immediately” return control to the Ukrainian authorities to ensure its safety.
The non-binding resolution was adopted by 99 votes in favour, nine against and 60 abstentions. It also calls on Moscow to “immediately cease its aggression against Ukraine and to unconditionally withdraw all its troops from Ukrainian territory within its internationally recognised borders.”
Meanwhile, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, has reported that the city hosting the Zaporizhia plant, Enerhodar, has continued to suffer temporary power outages, water shortages and forest fires. This is in addition to a series of drone attacks that have further fueled “deep concerns about the dangers facing the plant.”
An attack last week damaged the electrical transformer at a substation, causing a power outage that lasted for several hours. This week, bombings near the town hit a water pumping station and another electrical substation, leaving residents without running water or electricity during the day.
The plant was connected to its external power lines and was not affected by the attack. However, workers have heard explosions and gunshots at various distances almost daily for the past week. And, in fact, eight workers were injured in an apparent attack then.
“These latest attacks did not directly target the nuclear power plant, as in April. However, continued military activity in the region remains a cause for serious concern and protecting the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is essential to ensuring nuclear security,” Grossi said.
The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine was occupied by the Russian military shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. The plant was subsequently mined. It has also been repeatedly hit by bombing, raising concerns about a possible nuclear accident. Both Russian and Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly accused each other of wanting to provoke an incident.
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