LONDON. Aug 19 (Interfax) - UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged Russia on Friday not to cut off the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant from the Ukrainian power grid, Western media outlets reported.
"Obviously the electricity from Zaporizhzhya is Ukrainian electricity. [...] This principle must be fully respected," Guterres said while visiting Odesa.
He came to Ukraine on Thursday.
Some time ago, the Russian Defense Ministry accused the Ukrainian army of shelling the Zaporizhzhya NPP infrastructure and creating the risk of a nuclear incident. It also said that Kyiv was plotting a provocation at the Zaporizhzhya NPP on August 19, during the UN secretary general's visit to Ukraine, in order to accuse Russia of a manmade catastrophe.
According to the ministry, Russian forces have been in control of the Zaporizhzhya NPP since February 28.
The Zaporizhzhya NPP is the largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine. Six VVER-1000 reactor units of the power plant based in Enerhodar were built by the V-320 project. The first unit was commissioned in December 1984, and the six one in October 1995.