Zelensky asked to punish Russia for the Zaporozhye NPP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has demanded the immediate and "unconditional" withdrawal of the Russian Armed Forces from the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) and the surrounding areas.
"Any radiation incident at the Zaporozhye NPP can be a shock for many countries. Everything depends only on the direction and strength of the wind," the head of Ukraine warned in his evening speech.
According to Zelensky, it is necessary to move from "discussions and calls" to new tough sanctions against the Russian Federation, the Russian state corporation "Rosatom" and the entire nuclear industry.
“The world has been struggling for decades to properly control all activities related to nuclear material and radiation safety. And if the world does not have the strength and determination to protect one nuclear power plant, it means that the world will lose," Zelensky said, noting that there is still a chance to escape from this defeat.
Russia took over ZAES in early March, after which Ukrainian employees continued to work at the plant. On August 5, the Ukrainian press reported that the Russians fired four times at ZAES. In recent days, the power plant has been regularly shelled, with Russia and Ukraine blaming each other. According to official Moscow, the shelling of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant by Ukrainian units is an act of nuclear terrorism, and it could lead to a disaster greater than Chernobyl.
For reference, Zaporozhye is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, producing a quarter of all electricity in Ukraine. This facility with a capacity of about 6,000 megawatts consists of six energy units. Currently, the nuclear power plant is operating at 70 percent of its full capacity.
On February 21 of this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree in the Kremlin recognizing the self-proclaimed independent Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) and Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) in eastern Ukraine . Later, the Russian Federation declared that it recognized the republics on the borders of the regions of the same name, increasing the risk of war against Ukraine.
Following Putin's emergency decision, the US , EU, Canada, Australia, Great Britain and Japan officials also introduced sanctions against Russia .
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the Russian military had launched a "special military operation" in eastern Ukraine's Donbass, and Russian troops launched an offensive against Ukraine. Putin justified this action by the fact that the leaders of the pro-Russian separatist forces in eastern Ukraine sent such a request .
Earlier, Zelensky addressed the citizens of Russia in Russian and said that Ukrainians "do not need cold, hot, or hybrid war" and that Ukrainians are ready to meet the attackers. Soon after, the President severed diplomatic ties with Russia. President Zelensky declared martial law in the country .
On February 25, Zelensky announced a general military mobilization in Ukraine. It was decided that the call to the army will be carried out in a number of regions and cities of the country.
Russian troops have been attacking Ukraine from the north, east and south until now and have succeeded in occupying a number of territories. But this war led to the isolation of Russia in the world.
The start of the attack on Ukraine dealt a heavy blow to the Russian economy. Shares of Russian companies fell sharply, trading on the Moscow Stock Exchange was at an unprecedented level. Gazprom, LUKOIL and other large companies suffered losses.
After the attack, the European countries and the USA introduced several stages of sanctions against Russia. Russian banks VTB, Bank of Russia, Otkritiya, Novikombank, Promsvyazbank, Sovkombank and VEB.RF have been disconnected from the SWIFT international interbank system. The USA and the European Union have blocked Russia's gold-currency reserves .
European countries, USA, Canada closed their airspace for Russia . Switzerland, which is considered a neutral country, joined these sanctions. Against the background of the war, the process of Ukraine's accession to the European Union accelerated .
European countries have already started to replace the supply of Russian oil. For example, at the end of May, the United Arab Emirates resumed oil supplies to Europe after a two-year break.