Thank You, Chair,
I have the honour to address this Board on behalf of the Baltic states – Latvia, Lithuania, and my own country Estonia. We fully align ourselves with the statement delivered by Cyprus on behalf of the European Union. We would like to add the following remarks.
Chair,
This urgent call for an extraordinary Board of Governors meeting
has a clear reason behind it. In the past months, Russia has sharply intensified its missile and drone attacks against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, demonstrating a conscious and deliberate pattern of escalation, which poses significant risks to nuclear safety in Ukraine and the wider European region.
On January 20, a massive coordinated barrage of missiles and drones caused the complete loss of off-site power at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant and damaged substations and transmission lines supplying Ukraine’s operating nuclear power plants. The IAEA has confirmed that multiple substations vital for nuclear safety have been affected. These events are not isolated. They are systematic. They deepen the humanitarian suffering in the midst of sub-zero winter and increase the risk of a nuclear accident.
Chair,
The IAEA Director General’s seven pillars for ensuring nuclear safety and security were designed precisely to prevent such risks. Pillar four states that secure off-site power is an indispensable element of nuclear safety architecture. Repeated disruptions increase the reliance on emergency systems and place an exceptional strain on equipment, procedures and personnel, which is even more acute under conditions of intense armed conflict.
Chair,
We are compelled to state clearly what is at stake. By systematically degrading Ukraine’s power grid, assessed by the Agency as increasingly unstable, Russia is exacerbating risks to nuclear safety and the secure operation of nuclear facilities. Russia’s brutal attacks are yet another demonstration of its systematic violation of international humanitarian law, which affords special protection to civilian infrastructure, whose damage could release dangerous forces. Russia’s actions, including weaponization of civilian infrastructure, blur the line between military objectives and coercive threats.
Chair,
We strongly support the IAEA’s continued presence in Ukraine, including its monitoring missions to nuclear power plants and electrical substations essential for nuclear safety. We commend the courage of Ukrainian technicians working to restore damaged infrastructure despite continued attacks. We express our gratitude to the Director General for his mediation efforts and to the Agency’s staff for their independent assessments. We look forward to receiving a detailed assessment of the nuclear safety risks deriving from incessant Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure critical for nuclear safety.
Chair,
For almost four years since the beginning of Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, Russia has desecrated international law and violated the principles of the UN Charter and the global nuclear safety framework. We reiterate our strongest condemnation of Russia’s continued destruction of Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, as well as the illegal seizure and militarization of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. We call on Russia to cease all attacks against Ukraine’s critical civilian infrastructure and to comply fully with resolutions of this Board and the IAEA General Conference. Nuclear safety must never be instrumentalised, used for coercion, or treated as leverage under any circumstances.
Chair,
The Baltic States reaffirm their unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. We will continue supporting IAEA’s vital work in Ukraine and work together with international partners to secure a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.
Thank you, Chair.