Russia defense minister discussed Ukraine nuclear plant with UN chief: Moscow

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and UN chief Antonio Guterres discussed the security situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine, which is currently under Moscow’s control and has been the target of fighting, Moscow said on Monday.

“Sergei Shoigu conducted telephone negotiations with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres regarding the conditions for safe operation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant,” the Russian defense ministry said in a statement.

The plant, Europe’s biggest nuclear facility, was captured by Russian troops at the beginning of March, not long after Moscow launched its military offensive in Ukraine.

Since the end of July, Zaporizhzhia has been the target of a number of military strikes, with both Moscow and Kyiv accusing each other of being behind the shelling.

The fighting at the plant has triggered fears of a possible nuclear catastrophe and was the subject of an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council last Thursday.

Ukraine has accused Russia of using the plant as a base for possible attacks and for storing weapons.

Kyiv, backed by its Western allies, has called for the area to be demilitarized and for Moscow to withdraw its troops there.

The defense ministry said that Shoigu and Guterres also discussed the strikes on the Kremlin-controlled Olenivka prison in eastern Ukraine at the end of July, which left dozens of Ukrainian prisoners dead.

Kyiv accuses Moscow of the mass killings, but Moscow denies the charges and says Kyiv was behind the strikes.

© Agence France-Presse