U.N. Security Council holds urgent meeting after attack at Ukraine nuclear power plant

United Nations – The U.N. Security Council held an urgent meeting on Friday following the attack and fire at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, which horrified world leaders. 

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi, briefed the Council from a plane en route to Tehran, Iran, and tweeted, “It is high time to stop an armed conflict from putting nuclear facilities at severe risk.”

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield called once again for Russia to get its troops out of Ukraine. 

“We call on you to respect your own troops enough not to send them into an unjust war — or on a suicide mission against a nuclear power plant,” Thomas-Greenfield said.

“To my Russian counterpart: this council needs answers. We need to hear you say this won’t happen again. We call on you to withdraw your troops and weaponry from Ukraine,” she said.

Ukraine’s U.N. Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya warned of a deteriorating situation: “It is not only Ukraine under Russian attack. It is Europe. It is the entire world. It is humanity. And finally, it is the future of the next generation.” 

“The results of the aggression of Russia against Ukraine are possibly devastating for human health and the environment,” France’s Ambassador Nicolas de Riviere said. 

The U.K.’s Ambassador Barbara Woodward reminded diplomats of the stakes, saying, “This is the first time that a State has attacked a fueled and functioning nuclear power plant.” 

Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia dismissed the allegations, pointing a finger instead at provocations from “Ukrainian nationalists.” 

The 15-nation Security Council is working on getting humanitarian aid to civilians in Ukraine, and has called another meeting for Monday.