The G7 Non-Proliferation Directors Group welcomed, on Monday 29 August, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) announced mission to the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine “to address nuclear safety, security and safeguards concerns”.
The plant, taken by Russian troops in early March, has been the target of strikes in recent weeks. Last week it was disconnected from the Ukrainian grid due to damage to power lines before being reconnected.
“The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant and the electricity it produces rightly belong to Ukraine (...) and that attempts by Russia to disconnect the plant from the Ukrainian power grid would be unacceptable”, the G7 warned in a statement, adding that the plant should not be used for military activities or the storage of military equipment. The Directors also expressed their deep concern about “the serious threat the continued control of Ukrainian nuclear facilities by Russian armed forces pose to the safety and security of these facilities”.
For the G7, IAEA staff must be able to access all nuclear facilities in Ukraine “timely, safely and without impediment” and engage directly, and without interference, with the Ukrainian personnel responsible for operating these facilities.
See the statement: https://aeur.eu/f/2uk (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)