Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, said Friday they were in favor of quickly sending a UN inspection mission to the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia, a target of bombings that Russians and Ukrainians blame on each other.
In a telephone conversation, Putin and Macron advocated sending “as soon as possible” a mission from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to that plant in southern Ukraine, occupied by Russian troops since March, in order to ” assess the real situation on the ground,” the Kremlin said.
On the other hand, Putin accepted that the inspection mission passes through Ukraine, “respecting the sovereignty” of Ukraine, indicated the Elysee Palace.
The director general of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, indicated in a statement that the entity “holds consultations with all parties” so that this mission can be carried out as soon as possible.
In his conversation with Macron, Putin blamed the Ukrainian military for “the systematic bombing of the territory of Zaporizhia”, which “creates the risk of a catastrophe of great magnitude”, indicated the Russian presidency.
Ukraine claims that Russia stores heavy weapons at the plant and bombs Ukrainian positions from there.
– “Disaster” –
The situation in Zaporizhia causes worldwide concern.
The Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelenski, urged the United Nations to guarantee the security of the site, after receiving the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the UN secretary general, António Guterres, in Lviv (west) on Thursday.
Erdogan declared himself “concerned” about the danger of “another Chernobyl”, referring to the accident at that Ukrainian plant in 1986, the worst in civil nuclear history.
And António Guterres claimed that any damage inflicted on the plant would be “suicide”.
Guterres called for Russia to refrain from cutting Zaporizhia’s connection to Ukraine’s power grid, echoing fears expressed by Ukrainian plant operator Energoatom.
The cut in supply would deprive four million Ukrainian households of electricity.
“Of course, Zaporizhia’s electricity is Ukrainian,” Guterres said in the southern port city of Odessa.
“Naturally, its energy should be used by the Ukrainian people,” he later told AFP.
– “Obstacles” to agricultural exports –
Guterres’ visit to Odessa takes place within the framework of negotiations to achieve an “intensification” of cereal exports from the two belligerent countries, essential to alleviate the risk of a world food crisis.
Until the agreement reached last month between kyiv and Moscow, mediated by Turkey and sponsored by the UN, Ukrainian exports were blocked by the presence of Russian warships and mines laid by kyiv to defend its Black Sea coast.
During his telephone conversation with Macron, Putin complained about the persistence of “obstacles” to Russian agricultural exports, despite that agreement, the Kremlin reported.
A complaint that was rejected by France.
According to the World Food Program (WFP), 345 million people in 82 countries face acute food insecurity – a record figure – and some 50 million people in 45 countries are at risk of starvation if they do not receive humanitarian aid.
The war and sanctions against Russia caused fuel prices to skyrocket and risk shortages in Europe.
After his conversation with Putin, Macron warned that difficult times were ahead, due to Russia’s “brutal attack” against Ukraine.
The French “will need firmness to face the times ahead” and “accept to pay the price of our freedom and our values,” Macron proclaimed.
– Bombings in the east –
On the ground, Russia continued to bombard the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, an area partly controlled by pro-Russian rebels, since 2014.
The Ukrainian leader of the region, Pavlo Kyrylenko, reported on social networks that these attacks left five dead and more than ten wounded in the last 24 hours.
Russia intended at the beginning of the invasion to take kyiv quickly, but ran into strong Ukrainian resistance, which received strong Western financial and military support.
The US Department of Defense announced a new package of 775 million dollars in defense equipment and ammunition for Ukraine, which includes Himars missiles, artillery and mine clearance systems. YS
