Guterres calls on Russia not to disconnect Zaporiyia nuclear plant from Ukrainian power grid

Daniel Stewart - Yesterday 10:04 a.m.


United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday called on Russian authorities not to disconnect the Zaporiyia nuclear plant from the national power grid after senior Russian officials threatened in recent days to shut down two of its reactors.

"Zaporiyia electricity is Ukrainian electricity, and it is necessary, especially during the winter for the Ukrainian people, and this principle must be fully respected," Guterres said during a visit to the Ukrainian port of Odessa, where he oversaw the resumption of Ukrainian grain exports, one of the most important diplomatic achievements of the Russia-Ukraine war since its outbreak in late February.

Guterres was responding to threats made by the commander of Russia's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense troops, Igor Kirillov, who warned on Thursday that Russian forces could shut down reactors 5 and 6 at the nuclear power plant, "leading to the shutdown of the plant," if fighting in the vicinity persisted.

Kiev and Moscow accuse each other of initiating these hostilities, as well as deliberately attacking the plant's facilities.

However, as he has done on other occasions, the UN Secretary General has called for the withdrawal of all armed elements both from inside the plant, under Russian control, and from the surrounding area. "The only certainty is that if the plant were to be demilitarized, as we have proposed, this problem would have been solved," he said.

Guterres also referred to the difficult talks on the arrival in Zaporiyia of a team of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations nuclear agency, currently paralyzed by security issues and on the route to follow.

Russia has offered to transfer the experts but, as the Kremlin itself recognizes, this is a delicate issue given that Ukraine could interpret Russian management as an affront, as the plant is located in territory occupied by Moscow. The IAEA has expressed its interest in carrying out this visit as soon as possible -- Moscow expects it to take place at the beginning of September -- but the UN General Secretariat has expressed its doubts in view of the intensity of the clashes.

In this regard, the UN Secretary General has insisted that the agency has the power as an "autonomous organization with a very clear mandate", the ability to decide on the conditions of the mission, before stressing that the General Secretariat has the capacity to "support the development of the mission", especially in terms of security, on a journey from Kiev to Zaporiyia.

"Decisions on this issue are IAEA decisions, with the consent of the parties, obviously, and with the consent of the Ukrainian government as well," he reiterated.