Ukraine urges immediate halt to military activity near nuclear facilities

Ukraine used a UN event marking the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster to call for an immediate halt to all military activity near nuclear facilities.

Deputy Foreign Minister Oleksandr Mishchenko made the appeal at the event in New York, according to reports from Kyiv Post, Ukrainska Pravda, RBC-Ukraine and TSN. The remarks focused on the dangers facing both Chornobyl and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

Ukrainian officials said attacks and drone damage around Chornobyl remain part of the nuclear-safety concern. The message was straightforward: no fighting near nuclear sites and no tolerance for military actions that could raise the risk of a wider disaster.

The appeal comes as the Chornobyl anniversary continues to serve as a diplomatic platform for Ukraine to push nuclear safety onto the international agenda. The United Nations also held commemorative remarks and meetings around the anniversary, underscoring the broader concern about the war’s impact on nuclear security.

For Kyiv, the immediate objective is to keep pressure on international institutions and governments to treat nuclear protection as urgent rather than symbolic. Whether the UN or the IAEA respond with a new formal statement is the next question.

The latest push is part of Ukraine’s larger effort to frame Russia’s war as a threat not just to territory, but to nuclear safety across Europe.