Nuclear safety in Ukraine
During the Special Military Operation on demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine the Russian Armed Forces took full control over the Chernobyl and Zaporozhye nuclear power plants (NPP). This was done to prevent Ukrainian nationalist or other terrorist groups, as well as foreign mercenaries, from using the situation in the country to organize a nuclear provocation, the risks of which undoubtedly still exist.
It is known that in 2014 Ukrainian nationalists already tried to destabilize the situation at the Zaporozhye NPP and in the city of Energodar. The Ukrainian security service of the facility succeeded to neutralize the threat. We drew the attention of the Western countries to that incident, but no reaction followed.
Having completed the assigned tasks, the Russian units at the end of March of this year transferred full control over the Chernobyl NPP to the Ukrainian side. That was sealed with respective written agreement. No claims were made.
Activities of the Russian Armed Forces did not and do not in any way affect nuclear safety of the Ukrainian nuclear facilities. The Russian military personnel do not interfere with the work of the operator of the Zaporozhye NPP. Radiation level is under control and within the normal range.
We keep constant contact with the IAEA Secretariat and regularly inform the Agency about the state of the Zaporozhye NPP. The responsibility for nuclear and physical nuclear safety of the Chernobyl NPP lies with Ukraine.
An active discussion was under way for several weeks about the initiative by the IAEA Director General R. Grossi to conclude an agreement between the Agency, Russia and Ukraine in order to ensure the safety of the mentioned facilities. The seven important provisions that were proposed to fix as obligations of the parties, of course, would have contributed to the stability and predictability of everything that is happening now around the nuclear infrastructure of Ukraine and its nuclear power plants. From the very beginning Russia has supported the initiative of the IAEA Director General. We were ready to sign the Agency’s document as it was prepared by the Director General. However, due to the intractability of the Kyiv authorities, first trilateral and then bilateral agreements (Russia-IAEA, Ukraine-IAEA) were torpedoed.
Russia is determined to continue to do everything it can so that the safety of the nuclear facilities in Ukraine is ensured at the appropriate level.
