IAEA Board of Governors
Agenda Item 6: Nuclear safety, security and safeguards in Ukraine
20 November 2025
Statement by Mr Mathew Fox, Alternate Resident Representative of Australia to the IAEA
Chair
Australia welcomes the Director General’s report on nuclear safety, security and safeguards in Ukraine.
The report reiterates the devastating impact of Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion on Ukraine, and the precarious situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), with some of the seven pillars being fully or partially compromised.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now approaching its fourth anniversary, is a flagrant violation of international law. It has been more than three years since Russia took control of the ZNPP.
We are gravely concerned by reports of continued explosions, gunfire, artillery shelling, and drone attacks in the vicinity of ZNPP. Troublingly, the ZNPP suffered its tenth and longest total loss of off-site power between 23 September and 23 October. It was forced to rely on emergency diesel generators to provide back-up power to cool its reactors and perform other essential nuclear safety and security functions. We commend the work of the Director General engaging in extensive discussions to reach a temporary and localised ceasefire so that repair work could be performed on both sides of the front line. We reiterate that the most effective protection of Ukraine’s nuclear infrastructure involves an immediate and complete withdrawal of all Russian military and unauthorised personnel from all of Ukraine and the return of all nuclear facilities to Ukrainian control.
Chair,
We commend the Director General for his dedicated focus on Ukraine, including his 12th mission to Ukraine in June. The IAEA’s presence has been critical in helping to stabilise the situation at Ukraine’s ZNPP and in providing an independent, impartial source of reporting to the international community. We note the expansion of the IAEA’s assistance programme to assess the stability of critical energy infrastructure for the safe operation of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants and commend the IAEA staff for their professionalism.
We acknowledge the challenging conditions that IAEA and Ukrainian staff continue to operate under at the ZNPP. We are also deeply concerned that access to personnel and to information by the IAEA has been impeded, compromising the Agency’s ability to fully assess whether the IAEA’s five concrete principles are being observed. However, the total loss of off-site power at the ZNPP on 23 September 2025 and continued military activities that prevented timely repairs and reconnection of the ZNPP to external power demonstrate that the third of the five principles was compromised. The independent, impartial and objective assessment of the nuclear safety and security situation is in all our interests. We reiterate our call for full and transparent cooperation by Russia with the IAEA.
Chair,
We affirm our full support for the General Conference’s and Board’s resolutions on Ukraine and condemn Russia’s failure to comply with these resolutions.
Finally, Chair, Australia reaffirms its unequivocal condemnation of Russia’s nuclear posturing and rhetoric. Russia’s threat of nuclear weapons use, let alone any use of nuclear weapons, is unacceptable and a serious threat to international peace and security.
With these comments, we note the Director General’s report and request it be made public.
Thank you, Chair.