Statement by Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia at UNSC briefing on nuclear safety and security in Ukraine
Mr.President,
We thank IAEA Director-General Grossi for the briefing. Ensuring nuclear safety and security has always been an overriding priority to Russia. From the very beginning, Russia has taken every effort with support of the management of the Agency to prevent threats to security of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) that were posed by Zelensky’s regime and its Western sponsors.
After his visit to ZNPP on 1 September 2022, DG Grossi came up with an initiative to create a nuclear safety and security protection zone at the plant. The proposal contained a number of important elements, the implementation of which would help to stop the Ukrainian attacks on the plant, as well as prevent emergencies or a man-made disaster with most unforeseeable consequences. The IAEA Director-General and the Agency's Secretariat accomplished a great deal of work to that end, but due to Kiev's intractability and its unwillingness to commit to not shelling the ZNPP, the initiative could not be implemented.
We share the concerns of DG Grossi regarding the standing security threats at the ZNPP. The shelling of the power plant undertaken by Ukraine is inadmissible. Director-General’s proposals on ensuring safety and security at the plant are consistent with measures that we have long been taking in our own capacity in accordance with decisions made at the national level. There have never been any attacks from the territory of the ZNPP. Heavy weapons and ammunition have never been deployed at the plant. By the same token, there is no military personnel at the nuclear facility that could be used to launch attacks from the plant’s territory. We have taken concrete steps to protect some most vulnerable structures, systems and components of the plant from attacks and sabotage.
In current conditions, Russia intends to take every step possible to enhance nuclear safety and security of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Plant in accordance with national legislation and our assumed obligations that stem from specialized international legal instruments, to which my country is party.
In light of the principles of nuclear safety and security that were mentioned by the Director-General of the IAEA, we will continue to ensure protection of the ZNPP in such a way so Kiev and the collective West receive no opportunity to violate them in a gross and irresponsible manner. Russia will give a strong response to all Ukrainian attacks against the ZNPP and its critical infrastructure (including energy supply lines), as well as the city of Energodar where the personnel of the plant and their family members are living.
We expect that in view of the statement made by DG Grossi today, the IAEA Secretariat will also demonstrate an impartial and unprejudiced approach and condemn openly the acts of Ukraine, which repeatedly led the world to the verge of a nuclear incident that could affect not only the area around the NPP, but also far beyond it, including in Europe, becoming a true nuclear catastrophe.
Thank you.
