CNN —Russia is planning to attack Ukrainian nuclear power plants, aiming to disconnect them from the energy grid, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the United Nations, warning such attacks risk “nuclear disaster”.
Zelensky told the UN General Assembly “radiation does not respect state borders.”Since Russia “can’t defeat our people’s resistance on the battlefield,” Zelensky said Russian President Vladimir Putin is “looking for other ways to break the Ukrainian spirit.”For a third winter, Russia is stepping up its strikes on Ukraine’s energy grid in a bid to leave Ukrainians in the “dark and cold,” Zelensky said.
In his speech Zelensky recalled the “horrifying” moment in the first weeks of the war when Russian attacks on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), the largest in Europe, stirred fears among Ukrainians of another Chernobyl-style disaster.
“No one could know how Russian strikes on the nuclear facility would end, and everyone in Ukraine was reminded of what Chernobyl means,” he said.
Two-and-a-half years later, Zelensky warned the ZNPP remains “at risk of a nuclear incident.”This is a developing story and will be updated.
Persons:
Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky, Russia “, ” Zelensky, Vladimir Putin, Joe Biden, ”
Organizations:
CNN, United Nations, UN, Assembly, United
Locations:
Russia, ”, Europe, Ukraine