Calling Russia Uses 'Nuclear Shield' In Ukraine, US Secretary Of State: Goes Beyond Using 'Human Shield'

Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine. (Wikimedia Commons/Ralf1969)

JAKARTA - The United States says Russia is using Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant as a "nuclear shield" by deploying troops there, preventing Ukrainian forces from returning fire and risking a horrific nuclear accident.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington was "deeply concerned" that the Zaporizhzhia plant, which Russia accused of firing shells near its site in March, was now a Russian military base used to fire on nearby Ukrainian troops.

"Of course, Ukraine cannot retaliate, because there must not be a terrible accident involving a nuclear plant," Blinken told reporters after nuclear nonproliferation talks at the United Nations in New York.

Russia's actions went beyond using a "human shield" Blinken said, calling it a "nuclear shield."

On the same occasion, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Mykola Tochytskyi said "strong concerted action is needed to prevent a nuclear catastrophe" and called on the international community to "cover the skies" over Ukraine's nuclear power plants with air defense systems.

Separately, the Russian Mission to the United Nations in New York strongly rejected the allegations made by Foreign Minister Blinken.

"We have repeatedly stated that the actions of our armed forces in no way undermine Ukraine's nuclear security or hinder the routine operation of the nuclear power plant (nuclear power plant)," Russia's mission to the United Nations said in a statement, citing Reuters August 2.

It said the sole purpose of Russian forces taking over Zaporizhzhia was to "prevent Ukrainian nationalist formations and foreign mercenaries from taking advantage of the current situation in Ukraine to carry out nuclear provocations with the most unforeseen consequences."

Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine on February 24 sparked the biggest conflict in Europe since World War Two, killing thousands, displacing millions, and leaving much of Ukraine in rubble.