Kyiv sent a note to the IAEA regarding Zaporizhzhia NPP
In a verbal note sent to the IAEA, Ukraine condemned the Russian Federation's apparent intentions to arbitrarily resume the operation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP
The Permanent Mission of Ukraine to international organizations in Vienna sent a verbal note to the IAEA Secretariat, condemning the Russian Federation's obvious intentions to connect the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to the Russian energy system and arbitrarily resume the operation of the NPP.
This was reported to an Ukrinform correspondent by Yuriy Vitrenko, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to International Organizations in Vienna.
"On this occasion, we sent a verbal note to the IAEA Secretariat with a request to distribute it as an information circular to all member states. The note emphasizes that such actions by Russia are a gross violation of international law and an encroachment on the sovereignty of Ukraine. All nuclear facilities on the territory of Ukraine, including the ZNPP, fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine. "The State Agency for Nuclear Energy and Nuclear Safety did not provide any permit, technical opinion, or license for any such infrastructure or operational changes," said Yuriy Vitrenko, commenting on Greenpeace's report on the Russians' construction of a power transmission line to restart the ZNPP.
He emphasized that the construction of this power line is "clear evidence of the Russian Federation's intentions to arbitrarily resume the operation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP - a facility that remains the sovereign property of Ukraine."
"Any commissioning of the ZNPP without a clearly expressed permit from the Ukrainian nuclear regulator is illegal and creates an immediate and unacceptable threat to nuclear safety," the Permanent Representative of Ukraine emphasized.
This risk is further heightened by Russia's apparent intention to disconnect the ZNPP from Ukraine's power grid after the construction of a new transmission line is completed, the note to the IAEA states. It also points out that this would deprive the plant of access to its only legitimate and previously authorized external sources of power supply - the 750 kV Dniprovska and 330 kV Ferosplavna-1 lines.
"Any deliberate disconnection of these Ukrainian power lines – under conditions of ongoing military occupation, the absence of qualified personnel, and independent regulatory oversight – would significantly increase the risk of emergency situations with loss of external power supply and would critically undermine the reliability of reactor safety systems. In addition, any modifications to nuclear infrastructure without an independent assessment and without the participation of the national regulator directly violate IAEA safety standards, in particular those relating to changes to nuclear facilities," the note says.
The document also notes that the lack of technical transparency, licensed and experienced personnel, as well as the militarization of the ZNPP site further worsen the overall security situation, which creates "systemic risks not only for Ukraine, but also for the entire region and beyond."
As reported by "Ukrainian Energy", according to a report by Greenpeace Ukraine, attempts by the Russians to lay a new power line for the illegal restart of the ZNPP have become apparent. The corresponding work is ongoing in the occupied Ukrainian territories.
