Ukraine Calls on the IAEA to Strengthen Nuclear Safety Standards in the Face of Russian Aggression
Kyiv • UNN
Ukraine calls on the IAEA to strengthen nuclear safety standards to withstand armed conflicts and hold countries accountable for violations, as Russia's actions at the Zaporizhzhia NPP and the Sevastopol Research Reactor in Crimea have created unprecedented risks and amount to nuclear terrorism.
Ukraine has called on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to step up efforts to strengthen nuclear safety standards. This is stated in the statement of Ukraine, which was proclaimed at the "International IAEA Conference: Shaping the Future" by the head of the Ukrainian delegation, Deputy Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk, UNN reports.
Despite the progress we have made in nuclear safety and security, NPPs can become targets of armed aggression and illegal seizure. This happened to Ukraine twice: in 2014, when Crimea, where the Sevastopol Research Reactor is located, was annexed, and in 2022, when Russia illegally seized the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, Zaporizhzhya NPP. Such actions created unprecedented risks for nuclear safety and continue to create such risks every day
She noted that what is happening in Ukraine now is nuclear terrorism on the part of the Russian Federation. Russia is destroying thermal and hydroelectric power plants, power lines, transformers and other elements of the energy system, and nuclear energy remains the main source of energy for the country.
Ukraine sees its future with nuclear energy, and we want to be sure that this future will be safe and reliable. Therefore, we call on the Agency to intensify its efforts and revise the nuclear safety standards in the direction of strengthening to ensure that countries' nuclear safety regimes are ready to withstand all possible circumstances, including armed conflict, and to ensure that countries are held accountable for their violations
The time has come to transform the international nuclear safety system and international instruments to meet current challenges and threats and, to the extent possible, to take into account all future ones
The representative of Ukraine thanked the IAEA and the Member States for joining forces, assisting Ukraine and working within the Nuclear and Radiation Safety and Energy Security Working Groups to implement the provisions of the Peace Formula in Ukraine.