D. Kreivys calls on IAEA to establish 30 km non-fighting zones around Ukrainian nuclear power plants
In response to the unprecedented attacks by the Russian armed forces on Ukrainian nuclear power plants in Zaporizhzhya and Chornobyl, the Minister of Energy, Dainius Kreivys, today formally addressed the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi.
D. Kreivys calls for the urgent establishment of a 30 km non-fighting zones around Ukraine's nuclear power plants in order to avoid a nuclear catastrophe in Europe.
"Over the last nine days we have all witnessed an unprecedented and unprovoked aggression by the armed forces of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine, a free and sovereign country. The actions of the Russian Federation are in flagrant violation of international law and the principles of the United Nations, and are seriously undermining the security and stability of Europe and the world," says D. Kreivys. The armed forces of the Russian Federation have taken control of the Chernobyl NPP, the shelling of the Zaporozhye NPP has caused fires at the site of the NPP, and those actions are a threat to other civilian nuclear facilities in Ukraine.
The Minister stresses that these actions clearly violate the decision taken by the IAEA General Conference in 2009, which states that 'any armed attack and threat to nuclear facilities intended for peaceful purposes constitutes a violation of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, of international law, and of the Statute of the Agency".
D. Kreivys also urges the IAEA to properly assess the actions of the Russian Federation in accordance with the relevant provisions of international law in order to hold the Russian Federation accountable. Once this assessment has been carried out, it is requested to be submitted to the IAEA Board of Governors.
In the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine, the Minister said, it is essential to mobilise international efforts to reduce nuclear safety and security risks in Ukraine. The IAEA's role is vital as it is the main international organisation responsible for developing nuclear safety standards and promoting a high level of safety in the use of nuclear energy, as well as protecting human health and the environment from ionising radiation. The IAEA will have to bear its share of responsibility for the accident if it does not use all available means and its political power to immediately stop Russian military attacks on Ukraine's nuclear facilities, states the letter.