48 IAEA Member States: Zaporizhzhia Reactors Can Only Restart Under Ukrainian Control
At a meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors, 48 member states issued a joint statement emphasizing that any restart of reactors at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) is only possible after the facility is returned to legitimate Ukrainian regulatory control, The Gaze reports.
The joint statement was delivered on behalf of countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan, and Ukraine, among others. The signatories reaffirmed their “full support for the Agency’s ongoing efforts to help maintain nuclear safety and security in Ukraine, despite extremely challenging circumstances.”
“Russia’s continued control of Ukraine’s ZNPP, including the presence of armed troops and military equipment, as reported by the Agency, compromises the DG’s ‘seven indispensable pillars for nuclear safety and security in an armed conflict’ and puts the implementation of the five concrete principles for protecting ZNPP at risk,” the statement said.
It added that the occupation has led to “ongoing technical degradation” of the plant and poses “serious nuclear safety and security risks to the broader region.”
The countries insisted that “any restart of the reactors at ZNPP can only take place once the facility has been returned to the legitimate control and oversight of Ukraine’s competent regulatory authority.”
They underlined that a potential restart must be preceded by thorough demining, comprehensive repairs, safety inspections, and explicit certification from Ukraine’s nuclear regulator. The IAEA would play a vital role in verifying the conditions for restart.
The statement rejected “any attempts to consider the short-term restart of reactors at ZNPP,” noting such a move would contradict well-established nuclear safety principles, relevant IAEA and UN resolutions, and the agency’s own assessments.
The delegations also criticized delays in IAEA staff rotations at the ZNPP and urged Russia to cease obstructive actions that compromise the safety and effectiveness of the IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhia (ISAMZ).
They demanded that ISAMZ be given “full, unrestricted, and timely access to all relevant areas and information” to report accurately on the nuclear safety situation and conduct necessary safeguards activities.
“We call on Russia to remove all unauthorized military and other personnel from Ukraine’s ZNPP and for the plant to be returned to the full control of the competent Ukrainian regulatory authorities,” the statement said.
As The Gaze previously reported, the situation at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP)—Europe’s largest nuclear facility—has reached a critical point, with six out of seven core nuclear safety and security pillars fully or partially breached, according to Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency.