Nuclear Plant Damage During Ukraine War Will Be Like Suicide, UN Head

Fighting near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine has prompted "grave worry," according to UN Secretary General António Guterres. He said this at a meeting in Lviv with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. 

Mr. Guterres cautioned that any potential harm to Zaporizhzhia would be suicide. Since Kyiv was attacked by rockets during Mr. Guterres' visit in April, Mr. Zelensky and Mr. Guterres hadn't spoken. The UN chief's worries were mirrored by Mr. Erdogan, who told reporters that he was concerned about the possibility of "another Chernobyl" tragedy erupting at the plant. 

The vicinity of the plant, which Russia seized in March, has experienced significant artillery fire in recent weeks. Heavy artillery fire has been directed at the vicinity of the plant, which Russia captured in March, in recent weeks, with both Kiev and Moscow blaming the other for the strikes. Mr. Zelensky criticized "deliberate" Russian strikes on the power facility ahead of the meeting on Thursday. 

All three presidents urged the Russians to demilitarize the area as quickly as possible after accusing Moscow of converting the site into an army base. Local sources on the Crimean Peninsula, which is held by Russia, reported a series of significant explosions close to the Belbek military airport. 

Despite footage purporting to show massive explosions lighting up the night sky, Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol, denied that anybody had been harmed in the blasts and claimed no damage had been done.The calls come as Russian-directed Ukrainian workers at the plant have expressed concern about a possible nuclear accident there, claiming that over the past two weeks, they have been "the focus of constant military attacks."