IAEA agrees on a mechanism to ensure safety of Ukraine nuclear plants

VIENNA (TASS): The IAEA agreed separately with Ukraine and Russia on a framework mechanism to ensure the security of Ukrainian nuclear facilities in connection with the Russian military operation. This was announced on Friday in Vienna by the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi following his visit to Ukraine.
“I have an agreement on a framework mechanism,” Grossi told reporters. However, this agreement was reached separately with each of the parties – Ukraine and Russia, he added. According to him, IAEA assistance in the delivery of technical equipment for monitoring radiation levels in Ukraine has already begun, but the main set of support will be provided from next week. “We are starting next week. The whole package of our assistance,” Grossi informed.
As Grossi said, providing assistance to Ukraine contains several aspects: from the delivery of portable equipment for measuring radiation to the presence of agency experts at Ukrainian nuclear facilities.
“We have agreed on this. True, there are different logistical approaches,” Grossi said. In particular, he explained that the arrival of IAEA experts would depend on the situation at each individual facility.
“It is very important that we agreed on a mechanism for rapid assistance, which implies, I hope that this does not happen, that in the event of an emergency we could immediately send a group to assess the situation,” the IAEA director general said.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi visited Ukraine on March 29-31 to begin the agency’s mission to ensure the security of Ukrainian nuclear facilities in connection with the Russian military operation.
He visited the South Ukrainian NPP and held talks with representatives of the Ukrainian leadership. On April 1, he held talks with Russian representatives in Kaliningrad. Grossi promised to send International Atomic Energy Agency experts to Ukraine’s nuclear facilities to deliver monitoring and emergency response equipment to reduce the risk of a nuclear accident. The IAEA has previously developed a specific plan to support Ukraine’s nuclear facilities.
Grossi, after the start of the special military operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, announced the need to ensure the safety of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities in order to prevent radioactive contamination of the area.
As reported in the International Atomic Energy Agency, Ukraine notified the agency of the loss of control over the Chernobyl and Zaporozhye nuclear power plants, which were taken under control by Russian troops. The threat of radiation spread in Ukraine has not been recorded.