VIENNA(National Times)- The U.N. atomic watchdog\u2019s board held a special session Friday to discuss risks to nuclear safety in Ukraine as concerns mount that relentless Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure pose an increasing danger of a nuclear accident. The urgent meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency\u2019s board of governors was held at the request of the Netherlands with support from 11 other countries, diplomats said \u2014 Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Portugal, Romania and the United Kingdom. Though it won\u2019t produce any binding outcome, the aim is to increase diplomatic pressure on Russia. Russia\u2019s \u201congoing and daily\u201d attacks against Ukraine\u2019s energy infrastructure in recent weeks have caused significant damage, Netherlands Ambassador Peter Potman told the board. \u201cNot only does this leave millions of Ukrainians in the cold and dark during a very harsh winter, but it is also negatively impacting nuclear safety in Ukraine, bringing the prospect of a nuclear accident to the very precipice of becoming a reality,\u201d he said. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said that damage to electrical substations \u201cundermines nuclear safety and must be avoided.\u201d Although nuclear power plants produce energy themselves, they rely on an uninterrupted supply of external power from electrical substations to ensure reactor cooling. In the event of a sudden loss of power, emergency diesel generators are available. But if those fail, too, the risk of a nuclear meltdown increases. Ukraine has four nuclear power plants, three of them under Kyiv\u2019s control. The fourth and biggest, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, has been occupied by Russian forces since the early days of Moscow\u2019s full-scale invasion in 2022. Ukraine is also home to the former Chernobyl plant, the site of the world\u2019s worst nuclear accident in 1986. \u201cAs we speak, an IAEA expert mission is underway at Ukraine\u2019s electrical substations amid ongoing strikes on the country\u2019s power infrastructure,\u201d Grossi said. \u201cThe mission will assess 10 substations crucial to nuclear safety.\u201d Ambassador Yurii Vitrenko told reporters as the meeting started that it is \u201chigh time\u201d for the IAEA to \u201cshine an additional spotlight on the threat to nuclear safety and security in Europe\u201d caused by Russia\u2019s \u201csystematic and deliberate destruction of Ukrainian energy infrastructure.\u201d He said that Kyiv appreciates the \u201cpersonal efforts\u201d of U.S. President Donald Trump to \u201chalt energy terror by the Russian Federation\u201d and he expressed hope that these efforts will bring \u201ctangible results.\u201d On Friday, the terms of a Russian commitment to Trump to temporarily halt its bombardment of Ukraine during one of the country\u2019s bleakest winters in years remained unclear.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
VIENNA(National Times)- The U.N. atomic watchdog\u2019s board held a special session Friday to discuss risks to nuclear safety in Ukraine as concerns mount that relentless Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure pose an increasing danger of a nuclear accident. The urgent meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency\u2019s board of governors was held at the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":119962,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-119961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n