NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's demands that Russia withdraws its troops from the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant [ZNPP] are absurd, Vladimir Rogov, a senior official of the Zaporizhzhia regional administration, told Sputnik on Tuesday.
Earlier on Tuesday, Stoltenberg made a doorstep statement at the start of the 2023 NATO Summit in Vilnius, having said that Russia "has to withdraw their forces [from the ZNPP] because the way they now behave in Zaporizhzhia is undermining the security of this biggest nuclear power plant in Europe."
"Their demands are absurd. Stoltenberg must have completely lost any competence if he makes such statements. First of all, the Zaporizhzhia NPP is located on the territory of Russia and is its property. Secondly, there are no troops at the nuclear plant; only Rosgvardiya [Russia's national guard] is there to ensure security in accordance with technical regulations," Rogov said.
It is Russia that is preventing Kiev from committing terrorist acts and shelling the NPP, the official said, adding that the NATO chief is likely to keep silent about this.
Located on the left bank of the Dnipro River, the Zaporizhzhia NPP is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe by number of units and energy output.
It went under the control of Russian forces in early March 2022 and has since been repeatedly shelled, raising international concerns over a possible nuclear accident.
