UWC Calls for a Demilitarized Zone Around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant

The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) calls on the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to undertake immediate necessary actions to establish a demilitarized safety zone around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), under Russian occupation since early March 2022.

Following its September 6 inspection of the ZNPP, the IAEA issued a 50-page report confirming grave violations of the plant’s safety and damage to its integrity, caused by the Russian invaders.

“The IAEA’s report is an indictment that Russia is committing nuclear terrorism at the ZNPP. Russia’s shelling in the vicinity of the plant continues to cause serious damage to the facility. We call for the UN to establish and enforce a demilitarized zone around the ZNPP to avert a nuclear catastrophe for Ukraine, the Black Sea region and all of Europe,” stated Paul Grod, UWC President.

The report also notes that the IAEA team observed the presence of Russian military personnel, vehicles and equipment at various places at the ZNPP, including several military trucks on the ground floor of Unit 1 and Unit 2 turbine halls as well as military vehicles stationed under the overpass connecting the reactor units. This behavior of the Russian occupiers demonstrates their criminal negligence and deliberate actions aimed at creating conditions for a man-made nuclear disaster.

“The UN and the IAEA must use all their moral and political capacity to compel the Russian terrorist state to step back, remove its military from the ZNPP, stop humiliating and intimidating the plant’s Ukrainian personnel and allow for professional execution of duties required for the safe functioning of the station. A demilitarized safety zone must be established around the ZNPP immediately!” emphasized Mr. Grod.