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The President: Nuclear safety at Zaporizhzhia NPP can only be ensured if Ukraine regains its full control

President of the Republic of Lithuania

June 16, 2024

In Switzerland on Sunday, President Gitanas Nausėda took part in a discussion on nuclear safety at the Summit on Peace in Ukraine.

The President underlined that Russia's continued intensive shelling of the Ukrainian civil and energy infrastructure shows that the energy sector is one of the main targets of these brutal attacks. According to the Head of State, it is necessary for the international community to join forces and work together in order to ensure the resilience of Ukraine in the energy sector.

Lithuania is actively taking part in the "Energy Security" thematic working group of President Zelenskyy's peace formula, also in the G7+ format and the "Radiation and Nuclear Safety" thematic working group. "We have already provided, and we are ready to continue providing the necessary elements to support Ukraine's energy infrastructure— Lithuania is among the top donors of low-voltage transformers and small generators. We are also sharing our expertise in the fields of energy infrastructure and market regulation, decentralized power generation, and heating sector decarbonization," the Head of State pointed out.

President Gitanas Nausėda emphasized that for the first time in history, an operating nuclear facility has been forcefully seized by occupying forces. The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been occupied for more than two years by the Russian military and other unauthorised persons. Russia's actions in occupying the Zaporizhzhia NPP and jeopardizing nuclear safety are completely unacceptable to the international community.

"Nuclear safety at the Zaporizhzhia NPP can only be ensured if Ukraine regains its full control," President Gitanas Nausėda spoke.

According to the Head of State, Russia must immediately withdraw its military and civilian personnel, weapons and equipment from the Zaporizhzhia NPP and safely transfer its control to Ukraine in line with the IAEA principles. This is the only way to ensure adequate nuclear safety and security. The President stressed that the international community should also address the issue of non-compliance with nuclear safety and environmental standards by certain Russian companies.

The Head of State also raised concerns about the safety of the Astravets NPP, highlighting that its construction was carried out in violation of environmental and nuclear safety requirements. The President called on the international community to step up pressure on the Belarusian regime to shut down the nuclear power plant, which fails to meet international standards.

Gitanas Nausėda also pointed out to world leaders that both the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory and the threat to use nuclear weapons in the context of the war against Ukraine are totally unacceptable.

The international community needs to join forces and work together to ensure Ukraine's energy resilience and security of energy supply. Lithuania is and will always be part of this process and will continue to support Ukraine, whatever it takes, until victory.

The President's Communication Group