Forty years since Chornobyl disaster: EU slams Russian attacks on site
On the eve of the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear power station disaster, the European Commission and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas issued a joint statement slamming Russia’s relentless attacks on the site which create a risk of a new disaster.
Forty years ago, the disaster at the Chornobyl power plant marked one of the gravest nuclear disasters in human history, the April 25 statement said.
Its true toll, long obscured by Soviet secrecy, has only become clearer over time, the statement said, referring to the Soviet regime’s concealment to the outside world of what happened in the April 26 1986 disaster.
To this day, its legacy remains a stark reminder that ensuring nuclear safety depends on transparency, robust safeguards and international cooperation, the statement said.
“Yet today, Moscow’s relentless strikes on Chornobyl’s ‘New Safe Confinement’, the structure built to contain the remains of reactor 4, undermine decades of international efforts and investment amounting to 2.1 billion euro, to mitigate the consequences of the disaster,’ it said.
The statement said that at the same time, Russia’s illegal seizure and continued occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the largest nuclear facility in Europe, significantly increase the risk to human life and environmental protection.
“Equally, Moscow’s systematic attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure threaten the stable power supply required for the safe operation of nuclear facilities,” it said.
“On this gruesome anniversary, we call on Russia to immediately cease all attacks on nuclear facilities in Ukraine and to comply with the Seven Indispensable Pillars for Nuclear Safety and Security during an armed conflict.”
The statement said that Russia will be held accountable for putting public safety in danger, must compensate for the damage caused, and return full control of the Zaporizhzhia plant to Ukraine.
The European Union has long supported nuclear safety, nuclear security and radiation protection in Ukraine. Not least with over 1 billion euro in financing, it said.
The EU has also been the largest donor to the international funds managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to make the Chornobyl site environmentally safe.
“Today, we also reaffirm our own commitment to the highest standards of nuclear safety, nuclear security and safeguards worldwide,” the statement said.
“We call on the international community to sustain and reinforce its support for Ukraine, including efforts to repair the New Safe Confinement, and to collectively reflect on how to protect nuclear facilities better, especially in time of war.”
The G7 initiative to discuss repairs to the Chornobyl site at the upcoming meeting in May is an important step, the statement said.
(Main photo: Pawel Szubert)
