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DEThe occupation and the risk of Russia committing a terrorist attack at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant endanger the entire OSCE area. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba stated this at the OSCE Chairpersonship Security Review Conference.
“Today, Russia is threatening Ukraine and the entire OSCE area with a radiation incident at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. No matter what Russian propaganda says, it is Russia, and only Russia, that today has the motivation and means to commit an incident at the ZNPP,” the minister said.
Kuleba emphasised that by occupying the plant and turning it into a military base, Russia is using the ZNPP as a tool of nuclear blackmail.
“I don’t know what else needs to happen for the OSCE participating States to recognise the obvious: Russia has no place at this table,” he stressed.
The minister noted that Russia blew up the Kakhovka HPP dam three weeks ago, causing the biggest technological disaster in Europe in decades and the crime of ecocide. This terrorist act took the war crimes of the Russian Federation to a new level, and the true scale of its consequences for people and the environment will be assessed only later.
The minister expressed his gratitude to the OSCE Chair of North Macedonia for its firm position on protecting the principles of the OSCE in the face of Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine.
“The impunity of Russia, the illegal detention of OSCE employees, the theft of more than 70 cars of the Organisation cannot be tolerated. There can be no discussion with a country whose president is wanted by the ICC for the war crime of abducting Ukrainian children. There can be no hope for a civilised dialogue with a country that launches missile and drone strikes on densely populated residential areas, resorts to mass atrocities, torture, rape and intimidation of the civilian population. There can be no seeking an understanding with the aggressor who tries to destroy Ukrainian statehood and national identity,” Kuleba stressed.
The minister emphasised that Ukraine has no choice but to fight for its freedom and restoration of territorial integrity. He noted that Ukraine has a holistic vision of restoring a just and lasting peace, which is detailed in the Peace Formula of President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Ukraine’s top diplomat called on the OSCE to actively participate in the implementation of the Peace Formula.
“We live in a time of challenges when discussions without pragmatic solutions no longer work. If we want to preserve the OSCE and our collective commitment to the values and principles of the Helsinki Final Act, we need to find a way to suspend Russia’s participation in the OSCE,” the minister concluded.
Natalia Tolub
