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Russia Urges NATO to Address Security Concerns
Russia's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, has called on the leaders of the US-led transatlantic NATO defence alliance to discuss Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant during their upcoming summit. The NATO leaders are set to gather in Vilnius on July 11-12 to address various topics, including divisions over Ukraine's membership bid, Sweden's accession, ammunition stockpiles, and reviewing defence plans.
Zakharova accused Ukraine of causing "systematic infliction of damage" to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and stressed the need for the NATO summit to give it significant attention. She highlighted the potential direct impact on the majority of alliance members if any incident were to occur at the plant.
Despite Vilnius being approximately 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) away from the plant, which is Europe's largest, both Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of planning attacks on the facility. The plant is located in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, on territory held by Russia, near the front line of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has repeatedly warned about the grave threat posed by the facility, recently claiming that Russian forces had planted mines on the roofs of several reactors. However, experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency, stationed at the plant, have stated that they have not observed any indications of mines or explosives thus far. They have, however, emphasized the need for further access to confirm their findings.