Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 21st Jan. UN Office for the Coordination of humanitarian affairs official in Ukraine Jens Laerke said on Friday that the first UN aid convoy reached Soledar arrived providing support for over 800 civilians in need.
Jens Laerke said that three trucks had been granted access to areas under Ukrainian Government control a few kilometres from the heavily disputed city in the Donbas region, which has been an intense battleground, as Russian forces seek to advance on the strategically important town of Bakhmut.
He told journalists in Geneva that the convoy consisted of food, water, hygiene kits, medicines and other medical supplies, provided by UN agencies.
“It is intended for 800 people who remain in this area”, he said “which has seen its fair share of hostilities and of widespread destruction. So, people are in dire need of aid there, so we are happy that this convoy has indeed reached its destination.”
OCHA Spokesperson Laerke said that the UN and its partners are trying to increase inter-agency relief operations to areas close to the frontlines in Ukraine, where needs are acute.
Head of UN Nuclear watchdog IAEA Rafael Grossi, briefed President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on the agency’s “expanding and intensifying activities to help Ukraine ensure nuclear safety and security at its nuclear facilities”.
According to a press release issued, Grossi told Zelensky that several permanent IAEA expert missions had been established across the country this week, according to a press release issued on Friday.
They discussed to set up a nuclear safety and security protection zone around the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest has come under fire in recent months, triggered deepening nuclear safety and security concerns.
Mr. Grossi stressed that the zone was essential for preventing a severe nuclear accident and said he would press ahead with his efforts to make it happen.
“Everybody agrees that the plant – located on the frontline in an active combat area – needs to be protected, but these are very complex negotiations. I will not stop until the much-needed zone is a reality. I will continue my intensive consultations with both Ukraine and the Russian Federation in the coming days and weeks,” he said.
“This major nuclear power plant continues to face daily dangers. Our team there continues to hear explosions close to the site, including two on Thursday,” he added.
“Across Ukraine from north to south has seen a major expansion in the IAEA’s on-the-ground support for the country’s efforts to prevent a severe nuclear accident during the war. At Ukraine’s request, the IAEA flag is now flying at these important nuclear facilities.
Grossi said “For the first time, we will have our top experts permanently present at all of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants as well as the Chornobyl site. Their vital work will help reduce the very real nuclear dangers the country is facing.”
IAEA expert team will be stationed at the Khmelnitsky plant, west of the capital Kyiv.
The agency teams permanently present at all of Ukraine’s NPPs and the Chornobyl site, the Agency will have at least 11 nuclear safety and security experts simultaneously in the country, an unprecedented undertaking by the organization.
“We are determined to do everything in our power to reduce the risk of a nuclear catastrophe during this tragic war”, he said.
Grossi concluded “This week was an important step forward in our efforts in this regard. But the work is far from over. The IAEA is here to stay, for as long as we are needed”.
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