Zelenskyy calls for sanctions against Russia's Rosatom over situation at Zaporizhzhia NPP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday called for sanctions on the Russian State Nuclear Energy Corporation Rosatom over the shelling of the Zaporizhzhia NPP atomic power plant in Ukraine. The Ukrainian leader expressed concerns about the situation at Zaporizhzhia saying that it requires a stronger response from the international community and sanctions to weaken the Russian nuclear industry. 

"Russia is committing economic terror, pressuring us with the price crisis and poverty. Russia is the only terrorist in the world that has turned a nuclear power station into a battlefield," Zelenskyy said, addressing an energy conference in Norway.

While the European Union has imposed a series of sanctions packages aimed at cutting off financial support for Russia's aggression in Ukraine that include the oil and gas bans, the bloc has abstained from embargo on the nuclear power. As Ukraine blamed the Russian forces for heavily shelling the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, the UN atomic agency IAEA warned of "the very real risk of a nuclear disaster that could threaten public health and the environment in Ukraine and beyond."

Zaporizhzhia nuclear radiation leak will also affect Russia: Operator Energoatom

Ukraine’s state energy operator Energoatom also sent a warning saying that while there is a high risk of a radioactive leak at Europe's largest Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant as shellings by the forces continue, there's now a possibility that the radiation cloud will cover parts of the southwestern regions of the Russian Federation. Analysing the wind forecasts, Ukraine’s state energy operator stated that the in the event of a severe accident at the Zaporizhzhia NPP, part of the south of Ukraine will also be severely impacted, but it wouldn't spare Moscow as the radiation cloud will drift towards the southeast Russia due to the direction of the wind. 

A team of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency is expected to reach the plant as early as next week. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, warned that the situation around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant remains "precarious and dangerous." "Any actions by Russia that could trigger the shutdown of the reactors will once again put the station one step away from disaster," he reiterated.