In a video address to an international donor conference for Ukraine in Copenhagen, Denmark, Zelensky said that Russia was doing everything “to maximise the risk of a nuclear disaster,” Polish state news agency PAP reported.
He stated: “If the Soviet authorities tried to hide the Chernobyl disaster and its full consequences, then the Russian authorities are much more cynical and dangerous.”
He added: “They themselves do everything to maximise the risk of a nuclear disaster and lie to the whole world that someone else is allegedly to blame."
Zelensky accused Russia of turning the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power complex, the biggest in Europe, into a "battlefield," saying that "the Russian occupation army is using the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant for terror and armed provocations."
Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate end to military activity near the Zaporizhzhia plant, the Reuters news agency reported.
"I am calling on the military forces of the Russian Federation and Ukraine to immediately cease all military activities in the immediate vicinity of the plant and not to target its facilities or surroundings," Guterres said in a statement on Thursday.
Copenhagen conference
In his speech to the Copenhagen Conference for Northern European Defence Allies, Zelensky renewed his call for Russia to be declared “a terrorist state” and for tougher sanctions.
He said Ukraine needed continued supply of weapons in order to force Russia to "finally think about finding a peaceful solution," and appealed for financial assistance.
Britain, Denmark announce fresh aid to Ukraine
As European defence ministers, including Poland’s Mariusz Błaszczak, gathered in Copenhagen to coordinate support for Ukraine, Britain and Denmark said they would provide more financial and military aid to the war-torn country, news outlets reported.
The UK, which has already sent advanced weapons systems to Ukraine and given military training to thousands of Ukrainian troops, pledged it would donate more multiple-launch rocket systems and a "significant number" of precision guided M31A1 missiles that can hit targets up to 80 km away.
"This latest tranche of military support will enable the armed forces of Ukraine to continue to defend against Russian aggression and the indiscriminate use of long-range artillery," UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said in a statement.
Denmark, meanwhile, will step up financial aid to Ukraine by EUR 110 million (USD 114 million), Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said at the Copenhagen conference, which was co-hosted by Ukraine, Denmark and Britain.
"This is a war on the values that Europe and the free world are built upon," she said. "Today we reaffirm our commitment to the support of Ukraine."
The new package will take Denmark's total aid to Ukraine since the start of the war to over USD 417 million, according to Reuters.
Slightly more than half of the new financial aid is expected to be spent on weapons procurement and support of weapons production, while the rest will be spent on supplies of Danish weapons and military equipment, as well as military training, officials said.
Thursday was day 169 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, Reuters, edition.cnn.com