The European Union has asked the UN nuclear watchdog to preserve Ukraine's nuclear plants, two of which are now under Russian control, and to mobilise international aid in the case of an emergency, according to a letter seen by Reuters.
Russian troops have taken control of Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant, Zaporizhzhia, as well as the Chernobyl spent-fuel and radioactive waste facilities, which are near the now-defunct power plant where the world's worst nuclear disaster happened in 1986.
"I request that IAEA does all necessary to safeguard the nuclear safety of Ukraine's nuclear reactors under the current conditions of conflict," European Union energy policy chief Kadri Simson wrote in a letter to IAEA head Rafael Grossi.
Russia should "immediately cease its hostile measures against Ukraine and, first and foremost, return all of Ukraine's nuclear facilities to full operational and regulatory control of Ukraine," according to the letter, which was viewed by Reuters on March 4.
According to Ukrainian authorities, the Russian military took control of Zaporizhzhia on Friday after setting fire to a nearby training facility. According to Russia's defence ministry, the attack was launched by Ukrainian saboteurs.
Russian forces have now assumed control of the facility's employees and cut off all communication with the outside world, a development that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) called "extremely alarming" on Sunday.
While the fire at Zaporizhzhia was rapidly doused with no damage to the reactors, it raised concerns about the potentially terrible effects if one of Ukraine's four operational nuclear power stations were to be damaged by the conflict.
According to Reuters, Simson has urged the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to prepare the international community "to be ready to aid Ukraine in the event of an emergency."
DTEK, a Ukrainian power producer, called on Western countries, NATO, and the United Nations to impose no-fly zones over Ukraine's nuclear power plants on Sunday.
The EU is preparing to urgently link Europe's electricity system to Ukraine's grid, which would allow Ukraine to receive emergency power from Europe if military attacks caused power outages.
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