EU and its partners: threats posed by Russia raise the risk of nuclear accident
September 22, 2022

EU and its partners: threats posed by Russia raise the risk of nuclear accident


On 21 September, the European Union together with Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland, the United States of America, expressed their grave concern regarding the threats posed to the safety and security of nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful purposes in Ukraine and their personnel. These threats, according to the joint statement, are significantly raising the risk of a nuclear accident.

“We emphasize that Russia’s seizure and militarization of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) is the root cause of the current threats in the field of nuclear safety and security. We recall that the heightened risks of a nuclear incident will remain dangerously high as long as Russia remains present on the site of ZNPP,” says the statement. “The Russian Federation must immediately withdraw its troops from within Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders and respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.”

It also states that if Russia holds any so-called “referenda” in the occupied territories, this will have no legal or political implications, including for the status of the ZNPP.

The EU and its international partners also said they supported efforts to maintain a permanent International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) presence at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in order to support Ukraine and stand ready to support nuclear safety and security.

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