MOSCOW, September 19. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his French counterpart Catherine Colonna discussed on Monday the situation in Ukraine, focusing on the need to ensure the safety of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported after their phone call.
"In the furtherance of the telephone contact of the Russian and French presidents on September 11, the foreign ministers discussed in detail the situation in Ukraine, focusing on ways to ensure the safety of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant," the ministry said.
The Kiev regime’s bombardments of the power plant expose Europe to the risks of a nuclear disaster, Lavrov told the French foreign minister.
"Lavrov said that the Kiev regime continues to use Western-supplied weapons to bombard civilian infrastructure facilities, including the ZNPP, thus exposing Europe to the risks of a nuclear disaster," the Foreign Ministry wrote it its news release.
"The Russian side emphasized again the need for an immediate and complete cessation of the bombardments and for an objective investigation into the intentional strikes at this facility," it went on to say.
Besides, the top diplomats exchanged views on various aspects of bilateral and international topics of mutual interest.
The Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, located near the city of Energodar, is currently controlled by Russian forces. The facility has been regularly shelled by Ukrainian armed forces until recently.
An IAEA mission led by Director General Rafael Grossi visited the Zaporozhye nuclear plant in early September. The agency later released a report, calling for creating a safety zone around the facility. Two IAEA inspectors remain at the plant to monitor its condition.
According to Alexander Volga, the head of Energodar military-civilian administration, Ukrainian troops have been continuously shelling Energodar for several days in a row. According to him, they are currently targeting areas in the vicinity of the nuclear power plant and a thermal power plant located nearby.
The sixth power unit of the Zaporozhye NPP, the last operating one, was shut down on September 11 due to the damage caused to the power lines transmitting electricity from the power plant to the system. The IAEA earlier announced that the third backup power line had been restored.