IAEA Member States have confirmed their full support for the Agency's ongoing efforts to ensure nuclear safety and security in Ukraine, the press service of the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine reports.

"Russia's continued control of the ZNPP, including the presence of armed forces and military equipment, as documented by the Agency, violates the 'seven indispensable pillars of nuclear safety and security in armed conflict' identified by the Director General and jeopardizes the implementation of five specific principles for the protection of the ZNPP. This has led to further technical degradation of the plant and continues to pose serious nuclear safety and security risks to the wider region," the statement said.

Main points of the statement:

● it is extremely important that all reactors at the ZNPP remain in cold shutdown mode. As stated in the Director General's report, the current situation at the ZNPP in terms of cooling water availability, reliability of external power supply, performance of deferred maintenance, and availability of spare parts does not allow for a return to normal operation of the plant;

● Member States strongly reject any attempt to consider a short-term restart of the ZNPP reactors, as this would be contrary to established nuclear safety principles and the Agency’s stated approaches as set out in the Director General’s reports. Moreover, any attempt by the Russian Federation to restart ZNPP would be contrary to relevant resolutions of this Council, the IAEA General Conference and the UN General Assembly – and is completely unacceptable;

● any restart of the reactors at the ZNPP is possible only after the facility is returned to the legitimate control and supervision of the competent Ukrainian regulator. Such a restart should be preceded by detailed demining operations, thorough repairs of all reactors and auxiliary systems, as well as comprehensive safety inspections, which should be completed with clear certification by the Ukrainian nuclear regulator. The Agency should also play a crucial role in confirming the safety of the restart;

● The Russian Federation should immediately cease any actions that impede the timely conduct of ISAMZ rotations and put Agency personnel at risk;

● ISAMZ should be provided with full, unrestricted and timely access to all relevant areas and information to be fully informed about the nuclear safety and security situation at the ZNPP, as well as to carry out the necessary safeguards activities in accordance with Ukraine's legal obligations in the field of safeguards;

● In accordance with previous resolutions of the IAEA Board of Governors and General Conference, we call on Russia to withdraw all unauthorized military and other personnel from the territory of the ZNPP and return the facility to the full control of the competent Ukrainian regulator.

The statement also called on all IAEA Member States to continue to provide political, financial, technical and material support to the IAEA’s comprehensive technical assistance program to Ukraine. This includes ensuring the permanent presence of IAEA experts at Ukrainian nuclear facilities and strengthening the Agency’s capacity to provide realistic, objective and impartial assessments of the nuclear safety and security situation.

Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko expressed gratitude for the IAEA's support in ensuring nuclear safety.

"Any actions by the Russian occupiers at the Zaporizhzhia NPP are a gross violation of international law and a direct threat to nuclear safety. The Zaporizhzhia NPP remains a tool for the Russians to blackmail the entire civilized international community. Attempts by Russian representatives to launch power units can lead to unpredictable consequences. Therefore, we once again call on the world community to prevent the occupiers from implementing a catastrophic scenario," said Herman Galushchenko.

The full text of the statement can be found here:

As a reminder, according to a Greenpeace Ukraine report, Russian attempts to lay a new power line for the illegal restart of the Zheleznodorozhny NPP have become apparent. Relevant work is ongoing in the occupied Ukrainian territories.

Later, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi stated that the Agency saw no signs of Russian preparations to restart the Zaporizhia NPP. At the same time, he emphasized the lack of conditions for the start of operation of the Zaporizhia NPP.

For reference: Zaporizhzhia NPP was attacked and illegally occupied by Russian troops on March 4, 2022. Since September 2022, the plant's reactors have not been generating electricity. In December 2024, Sergei Kiriyenko, First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation, announced his intention to restart the reactors "as soon as possible." Russia's goal is to connect the Zaporizhzhia NPP reactors to the Russian power grid in the Rostov region. The restart is a priority for the Russian government and is led by Rosatom.