EU concerned about growing threat to nuclear security in Ukraine – meeting with IAEA
The European Union is seriously concerned that nuclear facilities in Ukraine are being subjected to military attacks by the Russian Federation and supports the IAEA's position on the need to ensure their safety, EU Special Envoy for Non-proliferation and Disarmament, Marjolijn van Deelen said during the eighth EU-IAEA Senior Officials Meeting in Vienna on Tuesday.
"EU Special Envoy for Non-proliferation and Disarmament, Marjolijn van Deelen, conveyed the EU's grave concern over the growing nuclear safety and security risks in Ukraine, as a result of Russia's military aggression and indiscriminate attacks on several nuclear sites," the IAEA said in a press release on its website.
According to the report, she reaffirmed the EU's full support for the initiative of IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi to ensure the safety and security of all nuclear facilities in Ukraine.
"The EU remains categorically committed to defending multilateralism, especially at this time when its foundations are being questioned. The EU's support for the implementation of the IAEA's mandate remains strong," she said.
According to the report, nuclear safety in Ukraine was a priority issue of the EU-IAEA meeting.
The IAEA, in another press release on its website, citing the Ukrainian nuclear regulator, said that the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, after repairing the power line by Ukrainian power engineers on the evening of March 14, "had been re-connected to the national electricity grid and no longer relied on emergency diesel generators for power." According to the report, it is also supplying electricity to the nearby city of Slavutych.
However, the IAEA said that it remains unclear for the regulator whether it will be possible to repair the second high-voltage power line that feeds the Chornobyl site, and whether it is possible to rotate the Chornobyl personnel, who have been staying at the station for twenty days from the date of its capture by the Russian troops.