Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, addressing the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 25, warned of a potential nuclear disaster brought by Russian forces targeting Ukraine’s nuclear infrastructure.
Speaking to the international body more than two years after Russian forces marched en masse into his country, Zelenskyy recounted a report he received in the early days of the conflict, stating Russian tanks had fired at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
“This was one of the most horrifying moments of the war, when no one could know how Russian strikes on the nuclear facility would end,” Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian leader compared the risk posed by the Russian forces at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to the deadly 1986 Chornobyl nuclear power plant meltdown.
Russian forces captured the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in March of 2022 and have retained control of the facility ever since.
Earlier this summer, Zelenskyy accused the Russian occupiers of attempting to sabotage the plant, while Russia has attributed damage at the facility to Ukrainian drone attacks.
Zelenskyy thanked the U.N. General Assembly for passing a resolution in July urging Russia to return control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to Ukraine.
Still, he insisted greater pressure is needed to prevent Russian forces from further interfering with Ukraine’s nuclear power infrastructure.
“Now, [Russian President Vladimir Putin] does seem to be planning attacks on our nuclear power plants and the infrastructure, aiming to disconnect the plants from the power grid,” Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian leader described this Russian effort to disconnect the Zaporizhzhia as part of a broader effort to degrade the Ukrainian energy grid ahead of the winter.
This strategy, he said, is meant to inflict cold and darkness upon the Ukrainian population and compel them to surrender.
“Just imagine, please, your country, with 80 percent of its energy system gone with such a destroyed part of the system,” Zelenskyy said. “What kind of life would that be?”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
From The Epoch Times