The United Nations (UN) General Assembly has adopted a resolution, proposed by Ukraine, demanding that the Russian Federation immediately return the Zaporizhia NPP to the full control of the sovereign and competent authorities of Ukraine to ensure its safety and security. The draft resolution, Safety and security of nuclear facilities of Ukraine, including the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (document A/78/L.90) was adopted by a vote of 99 in favour and nine against (Belarus, Burundi, Cuba, North Korea, Eritrea, Mali, Nicaragua, Russia and Syria) with 60 abstentions. It also demanded that the Russia withdraw its military and other unauthorised personnel from the plant.
It called upon the Russian Federation, until it returns the plant, to provide the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Support & Assistance Mission to Zaporizhia with timely and full access to all areas at the plant that are important for nuclear safety and security.
Introducing that text, the representative of Ukraine recalled Russia’s “unimaginable” armed attack on Zaporizhia NPP (ZNPP). Radiation knows no borders, he said, adding that Ukraine has always been responsible about nuclear safety. Noting its cooperation with IAEA, and the resolutions adopted by that Agency regarding the ZNPP, he said Russia refuses to heed those calls and continues to violate key principles of technological and physical nuclear security. Stressing that the current text is fully aligned with the IAEA mandate to address security risks during an armed conflict, he said that the international community must not “stand with our arms crossed” on this matter.
However, the representative of the Russian Federation, responded by saying that Russia regularly provides the international community with data on the actual situation around the plant. Turning to the draft resolution, he said that its sponsors decided to resort to “non-inclusive and non-transparent methods of work”, refusing to consider any amendment proposal from numerous delegations that sought to depoliticise it. “If Kyiv was truly interested in nuclear safety and security, it would not be carrying out regular reckless attacks on the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant and related infrastructure,” he asserted, urging states to vote against this harmful initiative which is “detached from reality”.
Since Russia took control of ZNPP in March 2022, the Russian national guard has been protecting the station and, in October 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree formally transferring ZNPP to Russian jurisdiction under nuclear utility Rosenergoatom (part of Rosatom). A Russian Federal State Unitary Enterprise, JSC Zaporizhia NPP, was established by Rosenergoatom to operate the plant. However, Ukrainian nuclear utility Energoatom continues to claim ownership of the plant and the IAEA recognises this claim.
Syria’s delegate, who voted against the resolution, said it was a highly politicised text that has “many other objectives” beyond its stated goal. She also noted the haste and lack of transparency in the drafting process. Cuba’s delegate also expressed regret about the lack of an inclusive process, adding that her delegation would have proposed certain amendments while listening carefully to other positions. This draft does not facilitate cooperation, she said, adding that it waters down the key principles of nuclear safety.
The speaker for South Africa, who abstained, highlighted the IAEA’s efforts and added that the text covers technical matters more suited for its competence rather than the General Assembly. The representative of Mexico, who also abstained, called for the preservation of the integrity of nuclear facilities in Ukraine and emphasised that attacks against them are expressly prohibited by international humanitarian law. Iran’s delegate underlined the need to end the conflict in Ukraine and stressed that any attack against nuclear facilities is prohibited, while the representative of China, who abstained, as well, stressed the importance of resuming dialogue and reaching a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis. The text does not emphasise this enough, he said.
Despite the “politically inspired elements” of the text, which do not advance the cause of peace in Ukraine, Ghana’s delegate said she had voted in favour of in the hope that it will serve as a practical expression of the international community’s collective aspiration for peace. The representatives of Qatar and Jordan, both of whom voted in favour, also expressed support for regional and international efforts.
Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs representative Maria Zakharova told a press briefing in Moscow that the resolution was “an odious document”, a compilation of impossible political demands and an openly biased initiative. In comment on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s website, she said: “The resolution is a compilation of impossible political demands on Russia, which wander from one odious document of the UN General Assembly to another. Any normal person understands that if the Kiev regime was really interested in the safety of nuclear facilities, it would stop irresponsible attacks on the ZNPP, as well as the adjacent town of Energodar, where the plant’s employees and their families live.”
Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said the resolution was politicised. “Ukraine itself is not in a position to implement this resolution. The Ukrainian permanent representative from the rostrum said that there should be no attacks on the station, and they are carried out by Ukraine itself. I believe that no one in their right mind thinks that Russia is attacking its own nuclear power plant.” During the plenary session of the General Assembly he showed a fragment of a Ukrainian drone that had attacked ZNPP. He said Ukraine regularly violates the principle of the inadmissibility of attacks on the station.
The armed forces of Ukraine are striking directly at the Zaporizhia NPP, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with the Governor of the Zaporizhia region Yevgeny Balitsky. He added that he considers the lack of attention to this issue to be a big mistake on the part of the West. “The enemy is now striking directly at the station, this, of course, requires special attention on our part,” he stressed.
