An agreement on nuclear plants in Ukraine is urgently needed, the U.N. nuclear agency says.
Concerns are rising over the operations of nuclear power plants in Ukraine without concrete agreements between Russia and Ukraine on safety and security, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Monday, adding that his agency, the nuclear watchdog of the United Nations, was working urgently to facilitate a meeting with the two parties.
There has been no release of radiation, he said, and the agency is remotely monitoring nuclear material there. Still, problems, including staffing and supply issues, have arisen at nuclear plants in Kharkiv, Mariupol and other places. If the plants can’t get access to equipment, normal operations could be difficult to sustain.
“We should not be losing time,” the agency’s director general, Rafael Mariano Grossi, told reporters in Vienna on Monday, adding that the agency was getting reports from the Ukrainian nuclear regulator. “Almost every day there is a new episode.”
“All of these are indications — more than indications, confirmations — that we cannot go on like this,” Mr. Grossi said. “There has to be clear understanding and clear commitments not to go anywhere near nuclear facilities when it comes to military operations.”
Russian representatives rejected an initial offer from the agency to meet at the Chernobyl nuclear plant, Mr. Grossi said, adding that the agency was communicating with Ukrainian representatives. He said the agency had not ruled out sending support personnel to the plants.
The agency said on Sunday that, according to Ukraine, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant — Europe’s largest — was under the control of Russian forces, though its regular staff were still on site. He expressed “grave concern” over reports from Ukraine that the management of the plant was subject to the approval of a Russian commander, and that communications with staff were not reliable.
Operations are safe, Mr. Grossi said, “but there are many, many questions on the ability to sustain this for much longer if we don’t support this in some way.”
