Russia said on Sunday that NATO leaders at their summit this week should discuss conditions at Ukraine’s Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, as an accident at the plant could impact allies’ territories.
Ukraine warned last week that Moscow could prepare to blow up the nuclear power plant, which could lead to a radioactive disaster, after Russian workers were told to evacuate the plant.
The Russian Foreign Ministry on Sunday accused Kiev of causing “systematic damage” to the Zaporizhia power plant and warned of the possible consequences of a disaster there.
At the NATO meeting that begins on Tuesday, the Zaporizhia facility should be given “central attention,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a Telegram post. “Ultimately, the vast majority of alliance members will be in the direct “path” of a potential accident, she said.
The heads of state and government of the NATO alliance will meet on July 11-12 in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, around 1,200 kilometers from the Zaporizhia plant. Crucial issues will be discussed at the summit, including arms supplies to Kiev and the accession of Sweden and Ukraine.
According to experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency, there is “no visible evidence of mines or explosives” at the Zakharova plant, IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi said on July 7.