Inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have completed their in-field verification activities at three locations in Ukraine at the request of the Government of Ukraine, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today.
Ukraine’s written requests for the IAEA to send teams of inspectors were issued after the Russian Federation made allegations about activities at the three locations – the Institute for Nuclear Research in Kyiv, Eastern Mining and Processing Plant in Zhovti Kody, and Production Association Pivdennyi Machine-Building Plant in Dnipro.
Over the past few days, the inspectors were able to carry out all activities that the IAEA had planned to conduct and were given unfettered access to the locations. Based on the evaluation of the results available to date and the information provided by Ukraine, the Agency did not find any indications of undeclared nuclear activities and materials at the locations.
The inspectors also collected environmental samples for analysis at the IAEA’s safeguards laboratories and its network of analytical laboratories. Environmental sampling is a commonly used safeguards measure with ultrasensitive analytical techniques that can provide information about past and current activities related to the handling of nuclear materials.
“Upon the request of the Government of Ukraine, I immediately dispatched inspectors to the three locations to carry out their indispensable technical and independent role in verifying the facts on the ground. Within days, they went there and conducted their safeguards activities, in challenging circumstances during the current conflict in Ukraine,” Director General Grossi said.
“Our technical and scientific evaluation of the results we have so far did not show any sign of undeclared nuclear activities and materials at these three locations. Additionally, we will report on the results of the environmental sampling as soon as possible,” he said.
Director General Grossi stressed that the IAEA remained ready to conduct further such verification activities in Ukraine to verify the absence of undeclared activities and materials and thereby deter any misuse of such materials.