French President Emmanuel Macron is urging Russian forces to withdraw from the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, the Élysée Palace said in Paris on Monday, following a telephone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, transmits MIA.
After the call, Macron said Ukrainian sovereignty over the Zaporizhzhya plant must be respected and that the plant’s safety could only be secured if the Russian troops pull out. Meanwhile, all reactors at the Russian-occupied power plant have again been shut down temporarily as a result of shelling.
A high-voltage line had been switched off due to a fire, the Ukrainian nuclear power plant operator Enerhoatom said on its Telegram channel on Monday.
This led to the emergency shutdown of the last unit in operation. Within the past three days, all five high-voltage lines to the nuclear power plant and the nearby thermal power plant had been damaged by artillery fire, it said. There is no longer a connection to the Ukrainian power grid.
A week and a half ago, on August 25, there was also an emergency shutdown of the two reactors in operation, followed by a power failure in the occupied southern Ukrainian territories.
The operator Energoatom warned that the Zaporizhzhya plant is in danger of violating radiation and fire security laws due to persistent shelling.
According to Energoatom, the mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is still going on, while Russia said that four more experts have left, with two remaining as observers. A 14-member IAEA mission arrived at the plant on Thursday to inspect it for damage.
The plant was taken over by Russian troops in early March, soon after the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly ruled out handing control of the biggest nuclear power plant in Europe back to Ukraine.
The persistent shelling of the plant has raised international fears of a nuclear disaster, while Russia and Ukraine continue to trade blame over the situation.
During the phone call, Macron inquired about Ukraine’s military and economic needs, according to his office, and pledged France’s continued full support to the war-torn country.
