UN board calls on Russia to leave Ukraine nuclear plant

By JOANNA KOZLOWSKA
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — The U.N. atomic agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors has passed a resolution Thursday calling on Moscow to immediately end its occupation of a Ukrainian nuclear power plant. Increased shelling of the facility and nearby areas in recent weeks has heightened fears of a possible radiation disaster. The International Atomic Energy Agency’s top decision-making body passed the resolution with 26 votes on Thursday. Russia and China voted against it while seven Asian and African countries abstained. The document adopted a harsher tone than previous statements by officials from the Vienna-based IAEA. It says the board “deplores the Russian Federation’s persistent violent actions against nuclear facilities in Ukraine, including forcefully seizing control of nuclear facilities.”