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Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky marked the 36th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident with a speech condemning Russia’s “completely irresponsible actions” around nuclear power plants during its invasion and calling for “global control” over the Kremlin’s nuclear capabilities.
“Every year on April 26, the world remembers the Chernobyl disaster, the worst nuclear disaster in human history,” Zelensky began. “But this year is not enough just to remember Chernobyl … because this year Russia has created new threats that could surpass even the worst accident.”
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The president recalled the night of March 4, when a fire broke out at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant after Russian forces began shelling the plant amid the invasion. “They knew exactly which target they were shooting at,” he said. “But they had an order to seize the site at any cost. They didn’t care. They did not care that the station in Zaporozhye was the largest in Europe. They didn’t think about how many power units there were and how the shelling could end. “
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses Kyiv. (SALE OF THE PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE IN UKRAINIAN)
Zelensky recalled talking to world leaders that evening, including US President Joe Biden.
“It is even surprising how quickly and completely Russia, the whole country, can forget about the worst catastrophe that its people have ever experienced,” the president added, noting that the Russians suffered after the Chernobyl disaster on April 26, 1986.
Instead of marking the anniversary of the disaster – which directly killed less than 100 people but increased deaths in the surrounding decades – Russia is escalating the situation, Zelensky said.
Kremlin escalates rhetoric and claims Ukraine is developing nuclear weapons
Instead, today they fired three missiles at Ukraine, so that they flew directly over the blocks of our nuclear power plants – over three nuclear power plants at once, over Zaporozhye, Khmelnitsky and South Ukrainian NPPs, “said the president. “What is it? Are they threatening? No words.”
Surveillance footage shows a rocket landing at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. (Zaporizhzhya NPP via YouTube / via REUTERS)
“It turns out they don’t realize what Chernobyl is. In general, “Zelenski said. “Russian troops trying to attack Kyiv through the Chernobyl zone used the restricted area as a military base. They built positions on land where it was even forbidden to stand.” He also noted that Russian forces had looted the Chernobyl radiation monitoring system – “looted a nuclear analytical laboratory”.
“Only thanks to the professionalism and conscientiousness of our specialists working at the Chernobyl station … we managed to save Ukraine, to save Europe from another catastrophe,” he said.
Zelensky noted that the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi, met with him in Kyiv to mark the Chernobyl disaster and promise support.
“We discussed all the dangers created by Russia and ways to possibly influence the situation in order to protect Europe and the world from the completely irresponsible actions of the Russian Federation,” the president said. He then called for a global takeover of Russia’s nuclear capabilities.
“I believe that after everything the Russian military has done in the Chernobyl zone and the Zaporozhye power plant, no one in the world can feel safe knowing how many nuclear facilities, nuclear weapons and related technologies the Russian state has,” Zelensky said. . “If Russia has forgotten what Chernobyl is, it means that global control over Russia’s nuclear facilities and nuclear technology is needed.
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Grossi also visited Chernobyl and delivered IAEA resources to the plant, which Russian forces held for five weeks until they withdrew on March 31. He thanked the staff for their resilience and courage during the conflict.
The Chernobyl nuclear power plant is seen in a satellite image in Ukraine, March 10, 2022. (Satellite image © 2022 Maxar Technologies) (Satellite image © 2022 Maxar Technologies)
“We not only respect you, but we admire you because you did exactly what you were expected to do,” Grossi told workers. “You have shown professionalism, courage and, of course, patriotism. But you did the right thing, so don’t worry, we are here, the IAEA will stay.”
Also Tuesday, Russia escalates the threat of nuclear war against the background of its war in Ukraine claiming that Kyiv is developing nuclear weapons with US support.
“The need for demilitarization is due to the fact that Ukraine, armed with weapons, poses a threat to Russia, including in terms of the development and use of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons,” said Nikolai Security Council Secretary Nikolai. Patrushev, state news agencies reported.
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi speaks at a press conference at the IAEA headquarters at the Vienna International Center in Vienna, Austria, Monday, March 7, 2022 (AP Photo / Lisa Leutner, file)
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who met with Zelensky in Kyiv over the weekend, called the comments “very dangerous.”
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“I think this noise about the use of nuclear capabilities, the use of nuclear weapons is very dangerous and useless,” Austin told reporters on Tuesday. “Nobody wants to see a nuclear war, nobody can win it.”
Ukraine renounced its nuclear weapons – which the Soviet Union had left in the country – in December 1994 in exchange for security guarantees from Russia, Britain and the United States.
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