The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine welcomes the adoption by the 70th IAEA General Conference of the resolution “Nuclear Safety, Nuclear Security, and Safeguards in Ukraine.”

The resolution was supported by 63 IAEA Member States; 6 voted against, and 46 abstained.

The adoption of the resolution reaffirms the General Conference’s unwavering principled position: the international community does not recognize Russia’s attempts to legitimize the illegal seizure of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. The plant remains a Ukrainian nuclear facility and must be returned to the full sovereign control of Ukraine and its competent authorities.

More than four years of Russian seizure and militarization of the plant do not alter the legal status of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and cannot serve as grounds for normalizing and legalizing the occupiers’ presence at the plant. Russia has turned a civil nuclear facility into a military base: Russian military personnel, military equipment, and weapons are stationed in the territory of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and in its immediate vicinity. Moreover, hiding behind the nuclear power plant, Russia is carrying out daily acts of terror against the peaceful Ukrainian cities of Nikopol and Marhanets and the surrounding areas.

The seizure of a nuclear power plant by military force, its use for military purposes, and the prevention of the legitimate operator and regulator from fully exercising their authority are categorically unacceptable. The duration of the violation does not confer its legitimacy.

Another important outcome of the 70th session of the General Conference was the Joint Statement on Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia NPP workers illegally detained by Russia, which was endorsed by 50 signatories - 49 Member States and the European Union. The Member States called for the immediate release of the unlawfully detained workers and emphasized the need to ensure conditions under which the staff of the nuclear facility can perform their professional duties and make decisions without pressure, intimidation, or coercion.

The resolution and the Joint Statement send a clear and mutually reinforcing message: nuclear safety and security at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant are impossible without Ukraine regaining full control over the plant and ensuring adequate protection for Ukrainian personnel, who, despite all challenges, are making a significant contribution to ensuring the continent’s nuclear and radiation safety.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expresses its gratitude to the Member States that supported the Resolution and the Joint Statement. Ukraine will continue to work consistently with the IAEA to restore full control of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to the competent authorities of Ukraine, end the illegal Russian presence at the plant, and secure the release of all illegally detained Ukrainian employees of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.