Nuclear Politics

Ukraine / Regulator Terminates International Nuclear Agreements With Russia

By Patrycja Rapacka
28 June 2022

Ongoing war motivates move
Regulator Terminates International Nuclear Agreements With Russia
The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU) has announced that it is terminating international agreements with Russia in the field of nuclear safety.

The decision is related to Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine, which has been ongoing since 24 February 2022 and has taken effect since 24 June 2022, the SNRIU said.

The first agreement cancelled is between the ministry of environmental protection and nuclear safety of Ukraine and the Federal Supervision of Nuclear and Radiation Safety of Russia, which was signed in 1996.

The second agreement is between the State Committee for Nuclear Supervision of Ukraine and the Federal Supervision of Nuclear and Radiation Safety of Russia on the exchange of information and cooperation in the field of safety regulation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy from 2002.

International nuclear power industry and policy makers have been concerned about the safety of nuclear power stations in Ukraine. The six-units Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, the largest in Europe, was taken by Russian troops after an armed assault on 4 March 2022 and has since remained occupied but operational in a reduced state.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) must send a mission to Ukraine’s occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station as soon as possible to address concerns about staff conditions and “other urgent issues”, said yesterday the agency’s director-general Rafael Grossi.

Eight of Ukraine’s 15 commercial nuclear power reactors are connected to the grid. They are two at Zaporizhzhia, three at Rivne, two at South Ukraine and one at Khmelnitski. The seven other reactors are shut down for regular maintenance or held in reserve.

Safety systems remain operational at the country’s four stations and they continue to have offsite power available. In 2020 nuclear plants in Ukraine (13,107 MW) produced 76 TWh of electricity, which is 51 % share od Ukraine’s energy mix.

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