NEW YORK (UN). April 16 (Interfax) - The United Nations Security Council should do everything in its power to reduce the risk of dangerous accidents at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi said.
"We are getting dangerously close to a nuclear accident. [...] We must do everything in our power today to minimize the risk of an accident," Grossi said at the UN Security Council when commenting on recent drone attacks on the ZNPP.
Grossi welcomed the shift to a cold shutdown of all six ZNPP units.
However, "the potential dangers of a major nuclear accident remain very real," he said.
Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya, for his part, called on the IAEA to formulate in no uncertain terms exactly who is behind the strikes on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant.
"I call on the IAEA leadership to acknowledge the obvious fact and refrain from engaging in verbal gymnastics but to identify the sources of the attacks on the ZNPP. This is not a political question: today it is just the question of the station's safety and security and the question of nuclear and radiation safety and security in Europe," Nebenzya said. Earlier in his speech, Nebenzya gave Russia's information regarding strikes on the ZNPP recently carried out by Ukraine. He dismissed these attacks as "irresponsible and reckless."
On Saturday, Grossi welcomed the steps to move the ZNPP Unit 4 into cold shutdown, adding that it enhances the overall safety of the facility.
Specialists finished bringing Unit 4 to cold shutdown on Saturday morning, the ZNPP said on its Telegram channel.