Dixi Group in cooperation with international experts, has prepared a policy brief Nuclear Safety During Military Invasion: The Ukraine-russia Case Study in support of the African Peace Mission and Ukraine’s Peace Formula

Olena Lapenko, energy security expert at Dixi Group think tank, in collaboration with international experts from the South African Institute of International Affairs, Centre for Sustainability Transitions, and Stellenbosch University, has prepared a policy brief Nuclear Safety During Military Invasion: The Ukraine-russia Case Study in support of the African Peace Mission and Ukraine’s Peace Formula.

The document highlights critical gaps in nuclear safety during war conflicts and addresses the severe threats posed by Russia’s military occupation of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, the Zaporizhzhya NPP (Ukraine). It underscores the need for urgent reforms in international law.

Similar to how the Chernobyl disaster contributed to the development of IAEA nuclear safety standards, russia’s current aggression compels the active development of effective solutions to prevent new armed attacks on nuclear facilities. African countries have the opportunity to participate in this work and contribute to global nuclear security. Recently, many African nations supported a UN resolution calling on Russia to withdraw its troops from the Zaporizhzhya NPP

With the ongoing occupation of the Zaporizhzhya NPP, which is twice the size of the Chernobyl plant, humanity faces unprecedented risks. Over the past two years, more than 150 operational violations have been recorded, including full blackouts and critical water shortages caused by the destruction of the Kakhovka dam.

Key recommendations ahead of the African Union’s Mid-Year Coordination Meeting in Accra include:

• To initiate an international agreement on the prohibition of armed attacks on nuclear facilities
• Demand the introduction of UN peacekeeping forces around the Zaporizhzhia NPP
• Ensure permanent access of the IAEA to all Zaporizhzhia NPP facilities
• Initiate an agreement to close the sky over all Ukrainian nuclear facilities
• Facilitate the return of the employees of the Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhya NPPs, currently held by Russia as prisoners.
  

The occupation of a functioning nuclear power plant by the Russian military violates all principles of nuclear safety. It must be stopped and never repeated.