Nuclear safety, security and safeguards in Ukraine: UK national statement to IAEA Extraordinary Board, December 2024
UK Ambassador to the IAEA Corinne Kitsell's statement to the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors extraordinary meeting on Ukraine
Chair,
In the Director General’s 28 November Statement on the Situation in Ukraine, he made clear that Russia’s renewed attacks on Ukraine’s increasingly fragile energy grid further endanger nuclear safety. This is why the Board is meeting today. With that in mind, it was disappointing to hear the Russian Governor argue at length that the DG’s independent, expert assessment is somehow incorrect.
I would like to thank the Director General for his crucial and timely updates and recognise the dedication of the IAEA teams deployed to Ukraine’s nuclear power plants. I would also like to commend the courage of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant operators who have so far managed to maintain nuclear safety and ensure these plants continue to generate electricity under the most challenging circumstances.
Chair,
The Director General’s 28 November update highlights the consequences of Russia’s reckless attacks. Due to extensive damage to substations that provide electricity to Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, all three of Ukraine’s operating plants were forced to reduce their electricity generation that morning. A reactor at the Rivne plant was also disconnected from the grid for safety and had to rely on emergency backup systems. Contrary to what we heard from the Russian Governor, these emergency backup systems were not designed to operate for extended periods of time.
This is not the first time Russia has damaged these substations. After examining damage at seven substations after strikes in August, IAEA inspectors concluded that “the grid’s capability to provide a reliable off-site power supply to Ukrainian NPPs has been significantly reduced”. I welcome the IAEA’s commitment to carry out follow-up expert visits to the electrical substations that the nuclear power plants rely on.
Chair,
No nuclear power plant is designed to cope with such instability in the electricity grid. In such unprecedented circumstances, it is difficult to predict the scale of impact, but such regular power transients and shutdowns will increase the stresses placed on the reactors and equipment at Ukraine’s operating NPPs. Contrary to what we heard from the Russian Governor, the nuclear safety standards that we have heard referred to this morning were not designed with these circumstances in mind.
Chair,
Ukraine’s operators are doing all they can to mitigate these risks, but this cannot continue. This is not about politics but the prevention of a nuclear incident. This is why the UK will vote in favour of the resolution before the Board today.
We call on Russia to act as the responsible nuclear actor it claims to be; cease these reckless attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure; and adhere to the Director General’s “Seven Pillars for Nuclear Safety and Security”.
Chair,
These attacks are not the only way that Russia’s action threaten nuclear safety and security. Russia’s continued occupation of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant rightly remains a priority for this Board. ISAMZ remains the international community’s only source of reliable, impartial information as to what is happening at ZNPP. We thank the ISAMZ team for their work at the site and call again for them to be given the access they need. The UK supports the DG’s appeal to abstain from any action which could put safety of the plant at risk.
It was with grave concern that we learned that, on Tuesday, a drone hit and severely damaged an Agency vehicle collecting staff from ZNPP. As we have stated before, we support the DG’s Five Principles for protecting the ZNPP - principles that are necessary because Russia is occupying a Ukrainian nuclear power plant. We do not condone any drone attacks at, towards, or from ZNPP. Agency staff must be able to carry out their work without being put at risk in this way.
But ultimately, Chair, the only way to truly ensure nuclear safety and security in Ukraine is for Russia to withdraw from Ukraine’s sovereign territory and end the war.
Thank you, Chair.