The Ministry of Energy of Ukraine addressed the IAEA with proposals on safety at nuclear power plants in the context of Russian aggression.
“The main task of our ongoing dialogue and the previous appeals to the IAEA is that the international mission has to officially record the fact that the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant were captured by the Russian military,” the statement said. - “ We hope that it would be an incentive to make tough decisions to ensure the security of Ukraine's nuclear energy, and thus the nuclear security of Europe and the world.”
The Ministry of Energy emphasizes that the priority task is to close the sky over Ukraine.
We have already sent official appeals to the IAEA explaining our vision of security in the context of Russia's hostilities on our territory. In particular, we emphasize the following actions:
- an immediate ceasefire and prohibition of occupying forces from coming within 30 km to nuclear power facilities;
- the IAEA should request NATO for the establishment of an A2 / AD zone (closed sky) over the territory of Ukraine, taking into account the geography of the NPP's location in Ukraine;
- the intensification of IAEA to coordinate the prevention of acts of nuclear terrorism at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and on humanitarian and psychological assistance to its employee with detailed documentation of events;
- the banning Russia's access to IAEA intellectual and technological resources, and severing of relations with Russian citizens employed in UN structures related to nuclear energy;
- an immediate strengthening of monitoring and control under IAEA supervision of the situation at Zaporizhzhya NPP (Energodar), South Ukrainian NPP (Pivdennoukrainsk), Rivne NPP (Varash), Khmelnitsky NPP (Netishyn) and other nuclear facilities of Ukraine, involving international organizations responsible for nuclear safety and other international organizations, including the WHO and the Red Cross. "
We remind that the Russian troops captured Chernobyl and firing from the sky over it. Also, Russian military equipment is constantly moving through the polluted territory of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, spreading radioactive dust further across Ukraine. The staff of the station are actually held hostage, they work without rest.
The situation at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant is also dangerous. On March 3, the Russians fired on Energodar city where the ZNPP is located, as a result the fire broke out on the territory of the nuclear power plant. The station staff was not injured. Three Ukrainian military defenders were killed and two others were wounded.
Russian troops still remain on the territory of ZNPP, although the station is controlled by Ukraine.