Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi this week told IAEA Member States that the nuclear safety and security situation in Ukraine remains highly fragile, as Agency teams stationed at nuclear facilities across the country continue to report frequent air raid alarms and military activity.

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Addressing the IAEA General Conference in Vienna — the Agency’s annual gathering of all Member States — Director General Grossi highlighted the IAEA’s ongoing work to help prevent a nuclear or radiological accident during the military conflict and support Ukraine’s nuclear safety and security infrastructure.

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“The IAEA's steadfast work continues in Ukraine, where our teams are stationed at all the nuclear power plants, including the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) on the frontlines of the war,” he said in his opening statement to the General Conference on Monday.

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At the ZNPP, the IAEA team this week continued to hear military activity, including gunfire and explosions, on a daily basis, often at close range, further underlining the constant dangers to nuclear safety. In his statement, Director General Grossi noted that since June alone, the ZNPP has suffered 10 losses of offsite power, the latest on 20 August, marking 26 since the conflict began in 2022. The plant’s emergency diesel generators – used to power its essential safety and security functions - have depleted almost all of their fuel supplies.  

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Following the seventh temporary localized ceasefire secured by the IAEA, demining and nuclear safety-related work was carried out from 5 to 7 September, enabling the reconnection of the ZNPP’s sole remaining external power line — the 330 kilovolt (kV) Ferosplavna-1 line — which remains functional today. 

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“The reconnection of this power line was a necessary step for nuclear safety and security, but serious risks remain. Further urgent measures are needed, including the delivery of additional diesel fuel to the site, to help ensure the plant’s essential safety and security functions can be maintained,” Director General Grossi said.

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Elsewhere in Ukraine, IAEA teams at nuclear power plants (NPPs) and sites continued to report drones in their monitoring areas. During the past week, the Khmelnytskyy NPP reported 13 drones, and the IAEA team there sheltered twice over the weekend following air raid alarms. The Rivne NPP reported 8 drones, The South Ukraine NPP reported 35 drones — some as close as 1.5 kilometres from the site — and the Chornobyl site reported 48 drones in its vicinity.

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The continued presence of military activity and drones near nuclear facilities further undermines the Seven Indispensable Pillars for ensuring nuclear safety and security during an armed conflict and the Five Concrete Principles for protecting the ZNPP, Director General Grossi said.

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Summarizing the IAEA’s ongoing assistance programme to Ukraine in his statement to the General Conference, Director General Grossi said that more than 250 deliveries of equipment and assistance, valued at over €27 million, have helped strengthen radiation monitoring, physical protection, emergency preparedness and other essential nuclear safety and security functions since 2022.

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As part of this programme, the IAEA this week delivered radiation detection and monitoring equipment to the National Research Centre for Radiation Medicine. CCTV cameras and related accessories were also delivered to the Chornobyl NPP to further enhance its nuclear security capabilities.

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These latest deliveries were made possible through funding provided by, France, Japan and the European Union.

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Text Courtesy, IAEA