Ukraine official says time for U.N. peacekeepers at nuclear plant

FILE PHOTO: Petro Kotin, head of the Ukraine's state nuclear power company Energoatom, speaks during an interview with Reuters, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine September 5, 2022. REUTERS/Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ukraine wants the United Nations to send peacekeepers to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant even without a deal with Russia to establish a safety zone there, the head of Ukraine's state nuclear power company said.

Ukraine has called for U.N. peacekeepers at the site since September. But the comment was the first time a Ukraine nuclear official has suggested publicly peacekeepers should be deployed in the absence of an agreement to create a safety zone at the plant, which Russia took control of soon after invading the country on Feb. 24.