Putin Warns Macron of ‘Large-Scale Catastrophe’ at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant
Putin wants IAEA mission to visit the power plant "as soon as possible"
While tensions rise and shelling continues at southeastern Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) and nearby areas, Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the need for the UN nuclear watchdog to send a mission to visit the plant. Both Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of planning provocations and false flags at the plant while warnings of a possible nuclear catastrophe at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant are growing.
After the call between Putin and Macron, their first in three months, the Kremlin issued a statement
reiterating the Russian offer to provide security for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission. The statement said that Moscow "confirmed its readiness to provide the [IAEA] inspectors with the necessary assistance.”
During the call, Putin also emphasized Ukraine’s shelling at the plant could cause a “
large-scale catastrophe” and that the inspectors should visit the ZNPP “as soon as possible.” The French readout of the call said Putin and Macron "will speak about this subject again in the next few days following discussions between the technical teams and before the deployment of the mission.”
While Ukraine asserts that Russian forces are attacking the ZNPP, Moscow has controlled the plant and surrounding areas since March, giving them little reason to risk a major nuclear incident that would imperil the ethnic Russians they are protecting in the Zaporizhzhia oblast.
Though Russia controls the plant, it is still run by Ukrainian operators. Moreover, Russia has been increasingly sounding the alarm, calling for independent inspectors to see
evidence they say will prove who is responsible for attacks at the site. For weeks, the area has seen frequent shelling. A Russian backed official in the oblast has accused Kiev of
attacking the power plant repeatedly with U.S.-provided M777 howitzers. On Friday, Russia
submitted a letter to the UN Security Council warning of Kiev’s planned "provocations" at the ZNPP.