At a meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors, a joint statement by 49 member states was delivered.
The member states reaffirmed their full support for the Agency’s ongoing efforts to ensure nuclear safety and security in Ukraine.
"russia’s continued control of Ukraine’s ZNPP, including the presence of armed troops and military equipment, as reported by the Agency, compromises the DG’s “seven indispensable pillars for nuclear safety and security in an armed conflict” and puts the implementation of the five concrete principles for protecting ZNPP at risk. It has led to the plant’s ongoing technical degradation and continues to present serious nuclear safety and security risks to the broader region,” the statement reads.
Key points of the statement:
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It is critically important that all reactors at the ZNPP remain in cold shutdown. As noted in the Director General’s report, the current situation at the plant regarding the availability of cooling water, reliability of external power supply, deferred maintenance, and availability of spare parts does not allow for a return to normal operations;
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The member states firmly reject any attempts to consider a short-term restart of the ZNPP reactors, as this would contradict established nuclear safety principles and the approaches set out by the Agency in the Director General’s reports. Moreover, any attempt by the russian federation to restart the ZNPP would be contrary to relevant resolutions of this Board, the IAEA General Conference, and the United Nations General Assembly – and is entirely unacceptable;
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Any restart of the reactors at the ZNPP is only possible after the facility is returned to the legitimate control and oversight of the competent Ukrainian regulator. Such a restart must be preceded by detailed demining operations, thorough repairs of all reactors and auxiliary systems, and comprehensive safety inspections resulting in clear certification by the Ukrainian nuclear regulator. The Agency must also play a critical role in confirming the safety of any restart;
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The russian federation must immediately cease any actions that impede the timely rotation of ISAMZ and that endanger the Agency’s personnel;
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ISAMZ must be provided with full, unrestricted, and timely access to all relevant areas and information to fully assess the nuclear safety and security situation at the ZNPP and to carry out necessary safeguards activities in accordance with Ukraine’s legal safeguards obligations;
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In accordance with previous resolutions of the IAEA Board of Governors and General Conference, we urge russia to withdraw all unauthorized military and other personnel from the ZNPP site and return the facility to the full control of the competent Ukrainian regulator.
The statement also calls on all IAEA member states to continue providing political, financial, technical, and material support for the IAEA’s comprehensive technical assistance programme for Ukraine. This includes ensuring the continued presence of IAEA experts at Ukrainian nuclear facilities and enhancing the Agency’s capacity to provide real, objective, and impartial assessments of the nuclear safety and security situation.
The Minister of Energy of Ukraine, German Galushchenko, expressed gratitude for the IAEA’s support in ensuring nuclear safety.
“Any actions by the russian occupiers at the Zaporizhzhia NPP constitute a blatant violation of international law and a direct threat to nuclear safety. The ZNPP remains a tool of blackmail by the russians against the entire civilized international community. Attempts by russian representatives to launch power units could lead to unpredictable consequences. We once again call on the international community to prevent the occupiers from implementing a catastrophic scenario,” stated German Galushchenko.
The full text of the statement is available here:
