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Ukraine war keeps nuclear safety on a knife-edge, UN watchdog warns

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Russian forces have been carrying out strikes on critical infrastructure amid freezing winter temperatures as their full-scale invasion approaches the four-year mark next month. 

IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said the electrical grid was again the target of military activity this past weekend, leading to significant impacts to several regions and nuclear power plant operations. 

Power lines down 

The fighting caused power lines linking Ukraine with neighbouring countries to be disconnected, which in turn knocked out supplies inside Ukraine.  

As a result, a unit at one nuclear power plant disconnected from the grid due to fluctuations and automatically shut down, while other units at other plants were forced to reduce power. 

The Chornobyl site – where the world’s worst nuclear disaster occurred in 1986 – experienced a complete loss of offsite power and relied on its emergency diesel generators for roughly an hour. 

‘Ever-present risks’ 

“This latest grid event in Ukraine is a stark reminder of the ever-present risks to nuclear safety and security arising from deteriorating grid conditions,” said Mr. Grossi. 

He stressed that extensive repairs are needed to improve the reliability of power supply to nuclear power plants and strengthen their resilience. 

“Once again, I call for maximum military restraint, as well as full observance of the Seven Indispensable Pillars to enable these essential repairs to take place.” 

Seven safety principles 

The IAEA developed the seven pillars for nuclear safety in Ukraine in March 2022, just weeks after the war began – the first time ever that armed conflict has occurred amid the facilities of a major nuclear power programme. 

Measures include maintaining the physical integrity of facilities, ensuring offsite power supply from the energy grid, and implementing effective radiation monitoring systems. 

Operating staff must also be able to fulfill their safety and security duties and to make decisions without any undue pressure. 

Vital inspections 

As military activity increases impacting the electricity grid in Ukraine, three IAEA teams are conducting a two-week mission visiting 10 substations critical to nuclear safety and security.  

The objective is to assess the continuing damage to the grid, review repair efforts and identify practical steps to strengthen the resilience of off-site power supplies to nuclear power plants.  

This marks the second IAEA mission in as many months.  A mission this past December confirmed the effects of cumulative impacts on nuclear power plant operations and staff conditions. 

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UN watchdog warns Ukraine war remains world’s biggest threat to nuclear safety

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Addressing the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors, Director General Rafael Grossi said the agency remains focused on preventing a nuclear accident as fighting continues to endanger critical infrastructure.

“The conflict in Ukraine is about to enter its fifth year,” Mr. Grossi said. “It continues to pose the world’s biggest threat to nuclear safety.”

IAEA teams remain deployed at all nuclear power plants affected by the conflict and publish regular updates on nuclear safety and security conditions.

The Board of Governors is the IAEA’s main decision-making body, bringing together representatives of 35 countries to oversee nuclear safety, security and safeguards, and to guide the work of the UN nuclear watchdog. Its current membership includes, among others Russia, the United States, United Kingdom, and France.

Off-site power a critical safety lifeline

Mr. Grossi stressed that a central safety requirement is reliable off-site power – the electricity a plant receives from the national grid. Without it, nuclear sites must rely on backup systems to run cooling and other essential safety functions.

“There must be secure off-site power supply from the grid for all nuclear sites,” he said, pointing to the IAEA’s “Seven Pillars” guidance for nuclear safety during armed conflict, where off-site power is pillar number four.

He also cited Principle 3 of the IAEA’s Five Principles for protecting the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) that “all efforts should be made to ensure off-site power remains available and secure at all times.”

Mr. Grossi said both sets of guidance have broad international support, including from the parties directly involved, and that he has repeatedly called for adherence to them, including at the UN Security Council.

Progress at Zaporizhzhya amid ongoing risks

He reported recent progress at ZNPP, where Europe’s biggest plant was reconnected on 19 January to its last remaining 330-kilovolt backup power line after repairs were carried out under a temporary ceasefire negotiated with Ukrainian and Russian counterparts.  

The line had been damaged and disconnected since 2 January, reportedly due to military activity.

Until the reconnection, ZNPP relied on its last remaining 750-kilovolt main line to provide off-site power for safety systems needed to cool its six shutdown reactors and spent fuel pools. IAEA teams are also monitoring the plant’s ability to manage winter conditions, including keeping water in cooling and sprinkler ponds from freezing.

Beyond the plants themselves, Mr. Grossi warned that Ukraine’s electrical substations are also crucial to nuclear safety. “Damage to them undermines nuclear safety and must be avoided,” he said. An IAEA expert mission is now assessing 10 substations vital to nuclear safety amid ongoing strikes on the country’s power infrastructure.

Other nuclear sites also affected

IAEA teams have also reported military activity near other nuclear facilities, including the Chornobyl site, where damage to a critical substation disrupted multiple power lines and forced temporary reliance on emergency diesel generators. The affected lines have since been reconnected.

Mr. Grossi said the IAEA has shown how international institutions can help reduce risks and provide predictability in a volatile war. But, he added, technical measures have limits.

“The best way to ensure nuclear safety and security,” he said, “is to bring this conflict to an end.”

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Nuclear watchdog chief announces breakthrough on Iran monitoring

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“Indispensable” monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) ended in June, agency chief Rafael Grossi said, when Israel and US-backed airstrikes targeted Iran’s nuclear power installations.

At the time, the Iranian authorities confirmed that the Natanz enrichment site had been “impacted” without affecting existing radiation levels, the top IAEA diplomat said.

Practical step forward

Now, “practical modalities” have been agreed to allow the resumption of inspection activities in Iran, Mr. Grossi told the agency’s board of governors in the Austrian capital. “This is an important step in the right direction,” he continued, before expressing his gratitude to Egypt for brokering the deal.

The development follows the 28 August announcement by France, Germany and the UK of their intention to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran within 30 days, under the so-called “snapback” mechanism contained in the Iranian nuclear agreement signed in July 2015 by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, in addition to Germany, the EU and Iran.

Working in partnership

The new agreement – which was preceded by weeks of technical discussions in Tehran and Vienna over verification activities of “all facilities and installations in Iran”– came despite the decision by Iranian lawmakers on 25 June to suspend cooperation with IAEA, a move approved by the country’s President one week later.

At the time, Mr. Grossi noted that this domestic decision did not alter Iran’s international nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) obligations.

Agreement remains in force

And earlier this week, he insisted that the NPT agreement remained in force as “the sole legally binding treaty governing the rights and obligations of the [IAEA] and Iran with respect to safeguards implementation in Iran”.

While acknowledging that his Iranian interlocutors had declared their willingness to remain part of the international non-proliferation movement, Mr. Grossi noted Tehran’s “concerns”.

Nonetheless, the deal – sealed by Mr. Grossi and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi in Cairo on Monday – “provides for a clear understanding of the procedures for inspection, notifications and their implementation”, he insisted.

The agreement also “contemplates” reporting on all facilities targeted by Israel and the US in June “including the nuclear material present” in Iran, the IAEA chief continued.

“These practical steps…need to be implemented now,” he insisted. “There may be difficulties and issues to be resolved for sure, but we now know what we have to do and the elements at our disposal for these basic understandings to be implemented.”

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Atomic watchdog says Iran not complying with nuclear safeguards

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The development follows serious warnings from the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) earlier this week that inspectors have been unable to determine whether Iran’s nuclear programme was “exclusively peaceful” – as per the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal from which the United States subsequently withdrew.

A fresh round of negotiations between Washington and Tehran is slated to begin on Saturday in Oman, according to news reports, amid heightened geopolitical tensions linked to rumours of an impending Israeli attack on Iran.

Following Thursday’s resolution vote by the IAEA’s board of governors – which passed by a vote of 19 for, three against and 11 abstentions – Iran’s atomic energy body reportedly announced plans to open a new uranium enrichment plant and increase production of enriched fissile material.

Growing concerns

The draft for Thursday’s resolution highlights serious and growing concerns since at least 2019 that Iran had failed to cooperate fully with the UN agency’s inspectors.

Tehran has “repeatedly” been unable to explain and demonstrate that its nuclear material was not being diverted for further enrichment for military use, the draft text maintains.

Iran has also failed to provide the UN agency with “technically credible explanations for the presence of [man-made] uranium particles” at undeclared locations in Varamin, Marivan and Turquzabad, it continues.

“Unfortunately, Iran has repeatedly either not answered, or not provided technically credible answers to, the agency’s questions,” IAEA chief Grossi said on Monday. “It has also sought to sanitize the locations, which has impeded Agency verification activities.”

According to Mr. Grossi, Tehran has stockpiled 400 kilogrammes of highly enriched uranium.

“Given the potential proliferation implications, the agency cannot ignore [this],” he told the UN agency’s governing board on Monday.

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Lack of cooperation from Iran hampers nuclear checks, says atomic energy watchdog

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Rafael Grossi, Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said on Monday that Iran’s growing stockpile of highly enriched uranium and unresolved questions about its programme remain serious issues.

“Unless and until Iran assists the agency in resolving the outstanding safeguards issues, the Agency will not be in a position to provide assurance that Iran’s nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful,” he said.

He was addressing IAEA’s Board of Governors, which comprises 35 countries – including France, Russia, the UK and the US.

Lack of credibility

Mr. Grossi further noted that Iran had failed to provide technically credible explanations for the presence of man-made uranium particles at three undeclared sites – Varamin,  Marivan and Turquzabad – despite years of consultations.

Based on its assessments, IAEA can conclude that these three locations were part of a structured nuclear programme that operated until the early 2000s and involved undeclared nuclear material, he said.

“The agency also concludes that Iran did not declare nuclear material and nuclear-related activities at these three undeclared locations in Iran…as a consequence of this, the Agency is not in a position to determine whether the related nuclear material is still outside of safeguards.”

The situation is exacerbated by the country’s decision to stop implementing some provisions of its Safeguards Agreement, a legal requirement under international law, he added, urging Tehran to urgently restore transparency and comply with international obligations.

Highly enriched uranium

Mr. Grossi also expressed alarm at the rapid accumulation of over 400 kilogrammes of highly enriched uranium, which has serious implications.

“Given the potential proliferation implications, the agency cannot ignore [this],” he said.

While commending Egypt’s recent diplomatic efforts to mediate between Iran and the United States, Mr. Grossi stressed that only a diplomatic solution, backed by IAEA verification, could restore trust.

He said the agency stands ready to verify any future agreement between the two sides.

“The effect of a stabilised situation in Iran with regards to its nuclear programme will be immediate and bring the Middle East one big step closer to peace and prosperity,” he said.

‘Clear violations’ in DPR Korea

Turning to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Mr. Grossi said the IAEA continues to monitor nuclear activity remotely, despite being denied direct access to the country.

North Korea’s five-megawatt electrical reactor at Yongbyon “likely continues” to be operating in its seventh cycle, while reprocessing of irradiated fuel has likely resumed at the Radiochemical Laboratory.

He noted ongoing construction at a new building with similarities to the Kangson enrichment site and said the light water reactor at Yongbyon remains active.

“The continuation and further development of the DPRK’s nuclear programme are clear violations of relevant UN Security Council resolutions and are deeply regrettable,” he said, adding that IAEA stands ready to play its role in verifying the DPRK’s nuclear programme.

IAEA experts depart Unit 4 of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. (April 2013 photo).

Monitoring discharge in Japan

Mr. Grossi said the IAEA continues to monitor the controlled release of ALPS-treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Japan, which suffered major damage in a 9.1 magnitude earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.

In April this year, IAEA and international experts collected and analysed diluted samples ahead of discharge.

“The IAEA has maintained its independent monitoring and analysis efforts, confirming that tritium concentrations in the discharged batches remain far below operational limits and align with the international safety standards,” Mr. Grossi said.

‘Precarious situation’ in Ukraine

Director-General Grossi also highlighted the precarious situation at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, where all six reactors remain in cold shutdown amid continued military activity.

A full damage assessment is also underway at Chernobyl, which was the site of a drone strike and ensuing fire in February that resulted in “significant damage” to a confinement arch that is critical to maintaining long-term safety at the site.

The power plant suffered a massive nuclear accident in 1986 and has since been encased in a protective structure to contain radioactive material and prevent its release.

“As the military conflict moves further into its fourth year, Ukraine needs support, and the IAEA is providing it,” Mr. Grossi said, reaffirming the Agency’s commitment to supporting Ukraine’s nuclear infrastructure during wartime and throughout the eventual post-war reconstruction.

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