Russia declines to demilitarize the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

• UN Secretary General António Guterres raises alarm over potential harm to nuclear facility.
• Turkish and Ukrainian presidents plead with Russia to demilitarize the site.
• Staff claim they have been the target of “continual military attacks” over the past two weeks.

Requests for a complete demilitarization of the region surrounding the Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactor in southern Ukraine have been refused by Russia.

According to a Russian official, the action would increase the plant’s vulnerability.

The calls come as safety at the site, Europe’s largest nuclear plant, is becoming increasingly of a concern as both sides accuse one another of shelling the region.

The plant, which has been under Russian administration since March, is run by Ukrainian employees.

Following their invasion of Ukraine on February 24, it was one of the first locations that Russian forces captured.

After meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday in Lviv, UN Secretary General António Guterres raised the alarm.

The largest nuclear power station in Europe needs to be demilitarised, the Ukrainian president pleaded with the UN. The facility “must not be used as part of any military activity,” Mr. Guterres continued.

The UN chief’s worries were mirrored by Mr. Erdogan, who told reporters that he was concerned about the possibility of “another Chernobyl” tragedy erupting at the plant.

The “deliberate” Russian attacks on the power facility have drawn criticism from Mr. Zelensky.

All three presidents urged the Russians to demilitarise the area as quickly as possible after accusing Moscow of converting the site into an army base.

Ivan Nechayev, the deputy head of the information and press division of the Russian foreign ministry, declined the invitation.

According to Mr. Nechayev,”Their implementation will make the plant even more vulnerable.”

The calls come as Russian-directed Ukrainian workers at the plant have expressed concern about a possible nuclear accident there, claiming that over the past two weeks, they have been “the target of continuous military attacks.”

Staff stated in a Telegram thread that”What is happening is horrific and beyond common sense and morality.”

Shelling has damaged three of the four power supply lines connecting the plant to the Ukrainian national grid, and Ukraine’s nuclear regulator has issued a warning that a complete loss of power supply would result in  “nuclear fuel will begin melting, resulting in a release of radioactive substances to the environment”.

Later on Thursday, the Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom’s employees were reported to have “urgently” left the facility and a “unexpected day off” had been announced, according to an official Twitter account used by the Ukrainian government.

According to a tweet from Ukraine’s Center for Information Security, “Ukrainian intelligence officers believe that the Russians are preparing a provocation at the [facility].”

“Following their extensive shelling… [Russian forces] could ‘raise the stakes’ and stage a real terrorist attack on Europe’s largest nuclear facility,” it said.

Despite these worries, Chernobyl, the site of the greatest nuclear accident in history, is claimed to be more less secure than the site at which the accident occurred.

According to specialists speaking to the BBC in March, the reactor is housed in a steel-reinforced concrete structure that can “withstand extreme external events, both natural and man-made, such as an aircraft crash or explosions.”

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