Ukraine calls Chernobyl seizure by Russian troops a nuclear terrorism and asks IAEA to immediately appeal to NATO

Kyiv. March 3. Ukraine appeals to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to call on the NATO with a demand to close access to the airspace over its nuclear facilities and intensify efforts to prevent acts of nuclear terrorism, such as the seizure of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and the Exclusion Zone.

"In order to return the situation related to the safety of nuclear facilities and facilities at the Chernobyl site and in the Exclusion Zone to the legal field, we insist on urgent decisive action regarding (…) appeal by the IAEA to NATO with a request to establish A2/AD

zone (Anti Access/Area Denial, ban on access/closure of the territory) over the territory of Ukraine, taking into account the risks and geography of the location of NNEGC "Energoatom", reads a joint appeal to the IAEA on March 2, 2022.

The appeals were signed by the Minister of Energy German Galushchenko, the head of the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate Oleh Korikov and the head of Energoatom NNEGC Petro Kotin.

According to the text of the appeal, the representatives of Ukraine also insist on actions by the IAEA to immediately cease fire and prevent the approach of the occupying forces at a distance of less than 30 km from the nuclear power plant, as well as to intensify activities of the headquarters of the IAEA to prevent the committing of acts of nuclear terrorism at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and provide humanitarian and psychological assistance to its personnel.

"The fact of the seizure of the world-famous Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant has all the hallmarks of an act of nuclear terrorism committed against Chernobyl nuclear facilities and its personnel by Russian military formations," the statement said.

Its authors emphasized that the Chornobyl personnel, who have been detained by the Russian military without rotation for seven days, are under psychological pressure and morally exhausted and as a result have limited opportunities to communicate, move and carry out full-fledged routine and repair activities leading to violation of the radiation regime and endangers their lives and health.

"Informing the IAEA of the security status of nuclear facilities in the context of hostilities, we expect concrete joint action from the IAEA in the form of 'peer pressure', which is commonly used by member countries to avoid evading security priorities", reads the appeal.