Threatened at Risk of Melting Nuclear reactors in Ukraine

In a Twitter message, Mr. Grossi warned that the hydropower station in Dnepro is essential for the safety of the nuclear plant. He also told President Zelensky that the dangerous situation at Europe's largest nuclear power plant “is not improving”, while fighting in the area continues to keep the plant on the verge of a disaster.

Earlier this month, fighting cut power supply by half a day, and the staff was forced to operate the generators.

Mr. Gross had expressed alarm for this development.

“Every time we're playing with the chance”, he told his agency at the time. And if we let this happen over and over again, then one day we'll run out of luck”.

Mr. Gross also reiterated full support for the International Nuclear Agency for the protection of Ukraine's nuclear facilities.

Six reactors at the Zaporizina plant have been shut down and only a supply line of electricity needed to prevent a nuclear meltdown is functioning. It has been necessary from time to time to use oil generators to power cooling systems.

Ukraine has called for an extraordinary meeting of the United Nations Security Council in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement that it aims to dislodge nuclear tactical weapons in Belarus.

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Mr. Putin's movement is “provocational” and undermines international security.

Russia could halt any action on the Security Council, being one of the five permanent member states with veto rights. Ukraine said it expects effective measures from four other permanent members -- Britain, China, France and the United States -- saying these countries hold the key responsibility to prevent the risk of aggression through the use of nuclear weapons”.

Mr. Putin announced on Saturday the disposal of nuclear tactical weapons, saying it was justified because of increased Western military support for Ukrainian forces, including Britain's decision last week to send poverty-designed uranium weapons to Ukraine, which crosses armoured vehicles.

Mr. Putin said the positioning by Russia's tactical warheads in Belarus is no distinguishing from the United States' deployment of nuclear weapons to Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey.

“We have been doing what they have done for decades, putting them in certain Allied countries, preparing platforms for their launch and training crews”, the Russian leader said.

Mr. Putin said Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has long demanded that there be nuclear weapons in his country to counter a possible NATO danger from neighbouring Western countries. Belarus has common borders with three NATO member states ão Latvia, Lithuania and Poland ) as Russia used Belarus's territory as a platform to send forces to Ukraine when it launched the attack in February last year.

NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu called the Russian comparison wrong with nuclear delocations from NATO member states, saying Russia's <x0-95 nuclear rhetoric is dangerous and irresponsible”.

Nuclear tactical weapons can be used on battlefields and have a short radius and lower shock force compared to the much stronger nuclear warheads placed in long-range missiles. Mr. Putin said Russia would retain control over the warheads sent to Belarus, the number of which did not reveal, as well as that it would build objects for their maintenance by July 1st.

The United States said it would re-negotiate the consequences” of Mr. Putin's announcement.

National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said that so far Washington has not seen “tregues that Russia is preparing for use of a nuclear weapon” under the attack in Ukraine.