Skip to content
Edit post

IAEA chief presents deal to protect Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

by Dinara Khalilova May 31, 2023 12:10 PM 2 min read
A view of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine on March 29, 2023. (Photo by Andrey Borodulin / AFP via Getty Images)
This audio is created with AI assistance

Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight.

Become a member Support us just once

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi presented an updated agreement to protect the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant at a May 30 meeting of the UN Security Council.

The agreement outlines five principles to help prevent a nuclear accident at the plant occupied by Russian troops over a year ago. Grossi said he had identified these principles in consultations with Ukraine and Russia and asked both sides to adhere to them.

According to those principles, no attacks should be conducted from or against the plant, in particular targeting the reactors' spent nuclear fuel storage, other critical infrastructure, or personnel.

Another rule is that the plant should not be used as storage for heavy weapons, like tanks, rocket launchers, artillery systems, and ammunition, or as a base for military personnel.

Life on the front line of Russia’s new nuclear brinkmanship
On nights when he hears them, Mykhailo Kling runs to his panoramic ninth-floor balcony in Nikopol to watch Russian rockets being fired at his hometown. “See the reactor buildings there,” he said, pointing across the wide expanse of the Dnipro River at the eerie shapes of the Zaporizhzhia…

The plant's off-site power should remain available and secure at all times, the agreement says, while all structures, systems, and components necessary for the safe and reliable operation of the plant must be protected from attacks or acts of sabotage.

IAEA experts stationed at the Zaporizhzhia are expected to monitor compliance with those principles and report any violations to Grossi.

The new plan is less ambitious than Grossi's initial efforts to create a full-fledged "protection zone" around the plant, the idea which "has long been abandoned," according to a diplomat, cited by Reuters.

Europe's largest nuclear power plant, located in occupied Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, has been held by Russian troops since March 4. It was fully disconnected from the Ukrainian power grid several times due to regular Russian attacks on the country's energy infrastructure.

Since Russian forces occupied the plant, they have used it as a military base from which to launch attacks at Ukrainian-controlled territory across the Dnipro River, in particular, Nikopol.

Life near Russian-occupied nuclear plant: ‘I don’t know if tomorrow will come’
Editor’s Note: The Kyiv Independent talked to residents who are still in Russian-occupied Enerhodar and those who recently left but still have family in the city. For their safety, we do not disclose their identities. When Russian soldiers captured Enerhodar, the satellite city of the Zaporizhzhia…
Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight.
Freedom can be costly. Both Ukraine and its journalists are paying a high price for their independence. Support independent journalism in its darkest hour. Support us for as little as $1, and it only takes a minute.
visa masterCard americanExpress

News Feed

Ukraine Daily
News from Ukraine in your inbox
Ukraine news
Please, enter correct email address
12:06 AM

Media: Rosatom's top manager arrested over suspicion of bribery.

The Basmanny court in Moscow arrested on March 28 Gennadiy Sakharov, Russian state nuclear energy company Rosatom's construction project director, due to the accusations of receiving a bribe in "a particularly large amount," Russian media outlet Kommersant reported.
8:30 PM

Shmyhal, Duda meet in Warsaw.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal met with Polish President Andrzej Duda on March 28, as part of his official visit to Warsaw.
7:38 PM

Zelensky, Speaker Johnson hold call.

President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson held a phone call on March 28, Zelensky announced on social media.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.