Minister urges civilians living near ZNPP to evacuate
Minister for Temporarily Occupied Territories, Irina Vereshchuk, has urged Ukrainians living near the Russia-occupied Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) to evacuate elsewhere, due to the growing threat of a Russian terrorist attack on the facility.
In a comment to Ukrainian TV broadcasters on July 3, Vereshchuk stressed that Russian forces could potentially use the civilian population as "human shields."
Read also: Top military leadership visits Rivne NPP to discuss Zaporizhzhya NPP crisis
“Find any opportunity to leave,” said the minister.
“Do not wait for the occupiers who, as we observed after the (Kakhovka) hydroelectric station explosion, provided no assistance to the civilian population. I anticipate the same in this case.”
“While I sincerely hope this will not transpire and I struggle to believe it would... we must be prepared. Our Armed Forces are on top of this situation, and they have the occupiers cornered. It's clear that they intend to use our civilians as human shields. We cannot allow this; we need to evacuate, wait it out, and we will liberate these territories before returning.”
Read also: Russian attack reduces Kakhovka Reservoir to a quarter of its size
Ukrainian Military Intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov previously reported that Russians had finished preparations for a potential attack on the Zaporizhzhya NPP. According to Budanov, explosive devices have been positioned near four out of six reactor building at the facility.
Read also: Putin might sabotage ZNPP to restore his authority – report
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