Foreign
UKRAINE on Tuesday called for an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss what it termed a “Russian terrorist attack” on the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine.
It also said it wanted the UN nuclear watchdog’s board of governors to discuss the incident and demanded new international sanctions on Russia, and in particular on the Russian missile industry and nuclear sector.
Ukrainian and Russian officials blamed each other for Tuesday’s breach of the Russian-controlled dam, which prompted the evacuation of people living in the vicinity.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry in a statement said: “we consider the Russian Federation’s detonation of the dam a terrorist act against Ukrainian critical infrastructure, which aims to cause as many civilian casualties and (as much) destruction as possible.
“The terrorist attack on the Kakhovka HPP (hydroelectric power plant) was previously intensely discussed at the level of the occupation forces in the Kherson region (of southern Ukraine) and by propagandists on Russian television, which indicates that it was planned in advance.”
The ministry urged the international community to condemn Russia over the incident and said Moscow should pay compensation for the consequences.
“We also appeal to the countries of the Group of Seven and the EU to urgently consider the imposition of new far-reaching sanctions on the Russian Federation and in particular, the Russian missile industry and the nuclear sector,” it said.
A list of actions drawn up by the ministry includes the convening by Ukraine of an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council and bringing the issue of the Russian terrorist attack to the meeting of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) Board of Governors.
Ukraine also called for the European Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism to be engaged.
A country can request assistance through the mechanism when facing an emergency. (Reuters/NAN)
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Tags: European Union Kakhovka HPP
