Ukraine called on the UN to close the sky over nuclear power plants

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Mykola Tochytsky, made a call at the UN conference dedicated to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. He called for closing the sky over Ukraineʼs nuclear facilities.

This is reported by "Ukrinform" and "Energoatom".

"For the first time in history, civilian nuclear facilities were turned into military bridgeheads of the Russian army — this violates the provisions of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons regarding the peaceful use of atomic energy [...]. We ask to close the sky over nuclear power plants in Ukraine, to ensure protection by air defense systems, to prove that an aggressor cannot go unpunished just because he possesses nuclear weapons," Tochytsky emphasized.

He asked UN members to prevent nuclear terrorism and take "decisive joint action" to prevent a global catastrophe.

There are currently 15 nuclear power units operating in Ukraine, each of which can become a target for Russian aircraft or missiles.

• The day before, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken stated that Russia uses the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP as a military base, which serves as a kind of "nuclear shield" for the occupiers. According to him, Russian troops are constantly firing at Ukrainian forces from the territory of the nuclear power plant, but do not receive a response, because the Armed Forces cannot prevent an accident at the plant.
• The occupiers traditionally deny such statements. The representative of the Russian Federation at the UN stated that "there are no military formations at the NPP, except for a limited number of military personnel necessary to control its security."