Ukraine urges suspension of Russia's membership at extraordinary IAEA board meeting

Ukraine has called for the suspension of Russia's membership on the IAEA Board of Governors and proposed amendments to the IAEA Statute to limit the rights of the aggressor state.

According to Ukrinform, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Denys Shmyhal reported this on Telegram.

"Today, an extraordinary meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors took place. The meeting was convened at Ukraine's request – an arrangement we had previously agreed on with Director General Rafael Grossi. Russia has systematically and deliberately attacked electrical substations that supply external power to Ukrainian nuclear power plants. This undermines one of the seven pillars of nuclear safety defined by the IAEA," Shmyhal wrote.

He noted that special attention was given to the situation at the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which has completely lost external power supply 12 times since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.

"We urged member states to impose comprehensive sanctions against Rosatom and to limit cooperation with this company in all possible areas. We raised the issue of suspending Russia's membership on the IAEA Board of Governors and discussed the intention to initiate amendments to the IAEA Statute to restrict the rights of the aggressor state," Shmyhal added.

On January 20, several Ukrainian substations critical for nuclear safety were hit by Russian strikes. The Chornobyl NPP completely lost external power, which was restored by energy workers by the end of the day.

Photo: IAEA