The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi confirmed at an extraordinary meeting of the organization that the systematic Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy sector pose a direct nuclear threat, Ukrinform reported, citing a statement by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga on social networks, BTA reports.
„Today in Vienna, the IAEA Board of Governors held an extraordinary meeting on the risks to nuclear safety caused by the systematic Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Rafael Grossi clearly confirmed that such attacks fall within the IAEA's mandate and pose a direct nuclear threat," the head of Ukrainian diplomacy said.
He stressed that Russia will not evade responsibility, and Ukraine will continue to build a systematic legal and political response, including by initiating amendments to the IAEA Statute in order to limit the rights of an aggressor state.
Sibiha thanked the Netherlands, Canada, Lithuania, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, Romania, Portugal, France, the United Kingdom and Japan for their support for Ukraine and for their assistance in organizing the meeting.
Daily Russian attacks on the country's energy infrastructure not only expose millions of Ukrainians to the winter cold, "but also have a negative impact on nuclear safety in Ukraine, bringing the danger of a nuclear accident closer to the brink of becoming a reality," the countries said in a joint statement, reported DPA.
The document states that strikes on substations and increasing damage to the power grid threaten nuclear safety. The 12 countries stress that reliable power supply is necessary for the safe operation of nuclear power plants.
The Russian representative to the IAEA, Mikhail Ulyanov, disagreed with these claims.
“This is a false claim“, he told reporters, adding that Ukrainian nuclear power plants could easily handle Russian attacks on substations.
The United States did not join the initiative of the other 12 countries.
US President Donald Trump recently said that he had asked his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to refrain from striking cities and energy facilities in Ukraine for a week because of the cold, but Moscow has not confirmed that it is complying.
Trump and Putin are pursuing serious realpolitik, Russian diplomat Ulyanov said in Vienna. According to him, the IAEA special session “has no practical significance”.