Ukraine Has Joined the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

Eleven countries, including Ukraine, have joined the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). 

This is reported on the IAEA's official website. 

The change of membership took place during the elections at the plenary session of the 67th General Conference.

Thus, the newly elected members of the board for the period from 2023 to 2024 are the Netherlands, Ukraine, Spain, Algeria, Armenia, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ecuador, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, and Paraguay. In total, the board consists of 35 members, including Canada, the United States, France, and Germany.

The decision of the IAEA has already been welcomed by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, emphasizing that Ukraine remains a reliable partner in the field of nuclear energy.

"It is worth noting that the Board of Governors is one of the two governing bodies of the agency, along with the annual General Conference of the IAEA. Among the direct responsibilities of the Board are the consideration of applications for the admission of new agency members, the approval of safeguards agreements, and the publication of IAEA safety standards.

It is worth noting that on September 1, 2022, in response to Ukraine's official request, the IAEA's permanent monitoring mission under the leadership of the agency's Director General Rafael Grossi began its work.

Initially, the IAEA's permanent mission started at Europe's largest Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP). In March 2022, the station was seized by Russian military forces, who occupied the territory of the nuclear facility, equipped it with military equipment and ammunition depots, held Ukrainian personnel at gunpoint, subjected them to torture, and carried out provocative shelling of the station in an attempt to pressure Ukraine and the international community.

After visiting ZNPP, IAEA experts recognized violations of seven basic principles of nuclear and radiation safety and confirmed numerous abuses, including the unlawful presence of representatives of the Russian state corporation ROSATOM at ZNPP.

Subsequently, Ukraine turned to the agency with a proposal to expand its mission to all Ukrainian nuclear power plants.

It is worth mentioning that the IAEA has repeatedly faced criticism for its indecisive actions. Just the day before, Greenpeace sent Western countries a critical dossier stating that the agency "is unable to fulfill the requirements of its mandate" and risks normalizing a "nuclear crisis" at the Zaporizhzhia NPP.