Zaporizhzhya shelling: India expresses concern at UN

New York: After the recent shelling near the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant in Ukraine and subsequent warnings issued by IAEA at the United Nations Security Council, India also raised its concern over the incident. Zaporizhzhya plant is among the world's largest nuclear facilities, IANS reported.

Regarding the shelling, Moscow and Kyiv were trading accusations on who was responsible for the attack.

India's Permanent Representative to UN Security Council, Ruchira Kamboj, said, Any accident involving nuclear facilities could potentially have severe consequences for public health and the environment."

"India expresses its concern over the reports of shelling near the spent fuel storage facility of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant," she told the Council, which was convened at Russia's request.

She said that India is closely following the situation and "attaches high importance to ensuring the safety and security of these facilities", IANS quotes.

"We call for mutual restraint so as not to endanger the safety and security of nuclear facilities," she said.

She said, "We continue to reiterate that the global order should be anchored on international law, the UN Charter and on respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of states," which IANS translates as a diplomatic criticism of Russia.

At the moment Zaporizhzhya plant is controlled by Russian forces, but Ukrainian technicians run it.

Nuclear accidents are an extremely sensitive matter for Ukraine. Large amounts of radiation escaped from the Chernobyl plant after an explosion and fire destroyed a reactor in 1986 there, rendering a 30-km radius uninhabitable.