UNITED NATIONS, August 22. /TASS/. The United States and its allies are fueling the conflict in Ukraine by pumping weapons to Kiev and assisting it in nuclear blackmail attempts over the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (ZNPP), Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, said at a meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday.
"The United States and its allies are supplying Kiev with heavy weapons in an attempt to prolong the conflict in Ukraine, which began after the Maidan regime in 2014 cracked down on the people of the southeast of the country with bombs and shells, thus condemning the Ukrainian people to the fate of cannon fodder," he said. "At the same time, contrary to their own professed values, the Western countries cynically turn a blind eye on the spread of the neo-Nazi ideology, on the massacres of Donbass residents and on the Ukrainian army’s and nationalist battalions’ violations of international humanitarian law."
"In recent weeks, the Western patrons of Ukraine have essentially been helping Kiev in its attempts at nuclear blackmail, ignoring the bombardments of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant by the Ukrainian military. At the UN Security Council’s meeting that Russia convened, not a single Western delegation had the courage to call a spade a spade and urge Kiev to stop these dangerous actions that may lead to a radiation catastrophe in Europe," Nebenzya added.
The Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in Energodar is controlled by Russian troops. Over the past few days, Ukrainian forces have delivered several strikes on the NPP’s premises, using, among other things, drones, heavy artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems. The majority of attacks have been deflected by air defense systems, however, shells hit some infrastructure facilities and the vicinity of a nuclear waste storage facility.
On August 19, IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi announced that active negotiations were underway on sending the agency’s mission to ZNPP.