On August 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that the shelling of the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine. “Vladimir Putin, in particular, stressed that the systematic shelling of the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant by the Ukrainian military created the danger of a large-scale catastrophe that could lead to radiation contamination of vast territories,” the Kremlin said in a readout of the call, which it said had been initiated by Macron.
