IAEA convenes extraordinary Board of Governors meeting on Jan 30 amid Russian strikes on Ukraine – Sybiha

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andriy Sybiha expressed gratitude to his partners in the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for convening an extraordinary meeting of the Board of Governors at his call to discuss the ongoing Russian strikes on Ukraine, and announced that it will take place on January 30.

"I am grateful to our partners in the IAEA Board of Governors for heeding my call to convene an extraordinary BoG meeting to address ongoing Russian strikes against Ukraine. I appreciate that this urgent call was supported by more than one-third of the IAEA Board of Governors membership. A surge in Moscow’s nuclear terror – targeted strikes on energy infrastructure of Ukraine essential for nuclear safety and security – warrant a resolute and immediate response by the world. We expect nothing less when the IAEA BoG gathers in Vienna on January 30th at Ukraine’s request," Sybiha said on the X social network.

The minister said international pressure on Russia should increase "as long as it keeps threatening nuclear safety and security in Europe and beyond."

As reported, earlier on Friday, First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Energy Denys Shmyhal called on the IAEA to completely isolate Russia, impose sanctions and suspend its membership in the organization. "The next meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors will be held at the end of January, convened at the request of Ukraine. The agency should raise the issue of Russia’s complete international isolation and suspension of its rights as a member state, whose actions threaten a global catastrophe and contradict the very purpose of the IAEA," he said.

Shmyhal also urged the IAEA to inform the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly about Russia’s violation of nuclear and radiation safety standards and initiate the application of appropriate international sanctions.

According to him, the current attacks on the energy system, key substations, and the transit of drones and missiles through nuclear plants indicate clear signs of nuclear terrorism within the meaning of international conventions.