KYIV, UKRAINE
\nA \u201ccatastrophe\u201d at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine would threaten the whole of Europe, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on Monday.
\n\u201cUnder the cover of the plant, the occupiers are shelling nearby cities and communities,\u201d Zelensky said in his evening address.
\n\u201cAny radiation incident at the Zaporizhzhia NPP can affect the countries of the European Union, Turkey, Georgia and countries from more distant regions. Everything depends solely on the direction and speed of the wind,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cIf Russia\u2019s actions cause a catastrophe, the consequences may also hit those who remain silent so far.\u201d
\nZelensky called on the international community to adopt \u201cnew tough sanctions against Russia\u201d and not to yield to \u201cnuclear blackmail\u201d.
\n\u201cAll Russian troops must be immediately withdrawn from the plant and neighbouring areas without any conditions,\u201d he said.
\nThe plant, Europe\u2019s biggest nuclear facility, was captured by Russian troops at the beginning of March, not long after Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine.
\nSince the end of July, Zaporizhzhia has been the target of a number of military strikes, with both Moscow and Kyiv accusing each other of being behind the shelling.
\nThe fighting at the plant was the subject of an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council last Thursday.
\nUkraine has accused Russia of using the plant as a base for possible attacks and for storing weapons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KYIV, UKRAINE A \u201ccatastrophe\u201d at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine would threaten the whole of Europe, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on Monday. \u201cUnder the cover of the plant, the occupiers are shelling nearby cities and communities,\u201d Zelensky said in his evening address. \u201cAny radiation incident at the Zaporizhzhia NPP can affect […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":277715,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[10156,10157,6317,4479],"class_list":{"0":"post-277709","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-catastrophe","9":"tag-nuclear-plant","10":"tag-threaten","11":"tag-volodymyr-zelensky"},"yoast_head":"\n