Zelenskyy calls for sanctions on Russian nuclear industry amid ‘disaster’ warning

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for sanctions on the Russian nuclear industry and nuclear fuel after an atomic power plant in Ukraine was shelled.

“Russian nuclear terror requires a stronger response from the international community, [including] sanctions on the Russian nuclear industry and nuclear fuel,” he said on Twitter after speaking with European Council President Charles Michel, whom he “told about the situation on the battlefield, in particular at the Zaporizhzhia” nuclear power plant.

The European Union has already passed multiple sanctions packages aimed at cutting off financial support for Russia’s aggression in Ukraine that also foresee oil and gas bans, but has left nuclear power off the list so far.

Ukraine and Russia blamed each other for the bombing on Friday at Zaporizhzhia, the biggest nuclear facility in Europe, with both sides calling it an act of terror.

In light of the shelling, the head of the U.N. atomic agency IAEA on Saturday warned of “the very real risk of a nuclear disaster that could threaten public health and the environment in Ukraine and beyond.”

Following the phone call, Michel said the “reports of shelling are alarming; its safety is of the highest concern.”