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"The world narrowly averted a nuclear catastrophe last night when a fire broke out during the Russian operation to seize the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in Ukraine," the US Ambassador to the United Nations pointed out on Friday.
According to CNN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Russia's actions were "reckless" and "dangerous."
"By the grace of God, the world narrowly averted a nuclear catastrophe last night. We all held our breath as we watched the horrific situation unfold in real time," she said.
The overnight attack reflected a "dangerous new escalation" in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the American diplomat said, warning that the "imminent danger" still exists, citing Russian troops being 32 kilometers from Ukraine's second-largest nuclear power plant.
"Russia's attack last night put Europe's largest nuclear power plant at serious risk. It was incredibly reckless and dangerous. And it threatened the safety of civilians across Russia, Ukraine and Europe," Greenfield noted. In this context, she sought assurances from Moscow that such an attack would not be repeated.
However, the US State Department sent an urgent message to all US embassies in Europe telling them not to retweet the tweet from the US Embassy in Kiev this morning calling Russia's attack on the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant a war crime.
The ominous assessment that the Russian attack on Ukraine will continue for some time to come was made in joint statements in Brussels by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, warning Russian President Putin that a new package of tough sanctions would be imposed in that case.
"It is tragic, horrible, but unfortunately the war may not be over yet. We have to keep up the pressure until the war is over," Anthony Blinken said, reiterating that any impunity for Putin would open a Pandora's box for similar catastrophic situations to happen again. "The stakes are very high," he stressed."
In the same vein, Ursula von der Leyen warned that "the war is far from over. In this context, she stressed, the partners are determined to impose further tough measures if "Putin does not stop."
"Thanks to this (EU-US) coordination, we designed and developed together in record time a set of sanctions that show our determination to make Putin pay the price."
Πηγή: skai.gr
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