On Tuesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced that the systems allowing remote monitoring of nuclear materials at "Chernobyl," the nuclear facility near Kyiv currently under Russian control, have stopped sending data. On the first day of the Russian attack on Ukraine, February 24, Russia seized control of "Chernobyl," where the worst nuclear disaster in human history occurred in 1986. The United Nations agency said in a statement that its director-general, Rafael Grossi, "indicated that remote data transmission from the safeguards monitoring systems installed at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant has been interrupted."
"Safeguards" is a term used by the agency to describe the technical measures it applies to nuclear materials and activities, aimed at deterring the proliferation of nuclear weapons by providing early detection of any misuse of these materials. More than 200 technicians and guards remain stuck at the site, working continuously under Russian supervision for 13 days. The IAEA has requested that Russia allow these staff to work in shifts and rest, as the agency considers these conditions necessary to ensure the safety of the site.
Grossi warned about the difficult and exhausting situation that the workers at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant find themselves in, along with the potential risks this poses to global nuclear safety. With the remote data transmission interrupted and the Ukrainian regulatory body unable to contact the nuclear facility except via email, Grossi reiterated his offer to visit the site or any other location to obtain a "commitment to safety and security" from all parties involved regarding operational nuclear power plants in Ukraine.
On Friday, the Russian military also took control of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southeastern Ukraine, with Kyiv accusing Russian forces of shelling the plant, causing a fire, while Moscow denies any involvement. Zaporizhzhia is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, and its reactors were commissioned between 1984 and 1995, making it of a more modern design compared to "Chernobyl," which was built in 1970 and was the first nuclear power plant in Ukraine.
