Statement 

by the Delegation of Ukraine 

in exercise of the right of reply to the Russian Federation 

during the UN General Assembly meeting 

on the Report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

 (23 October 2026, New York)

Madam President,

The delegation of Ukraine is compelled to exercise the right of reply to the statement made by the delegation of the Russian Federation.

Ukraine categorically rejects the misleading and unfounded allegations made by the Russian Federation.

In his statement today, the Russian representative described the latest resolution, entitled “Nuclear Safety, Nuclear Security, and Safeguards in Ukraine,” adopted at the 70th session of the IAEA General Conference, as politically and legally null and void.

Let us be absolutely clear. If there is anything that is truly null and void, both politically and legally, it is Russia's sham referendums conducted in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and its attempted illegal annexation of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions in 2022.

These illegal acts have no legal effect whatsoever and cannot alter Ukraine's internationally recognized borders. The United Nations General Assembly has made this unequivocally clear.

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is, and will remain, a Ukrainian nuclear facility. No amount of Russian propaganda, fabricated legal arguments or attempts to impose Russian jurisdiction can change this fact.

 

 

Madam President,

Russia continues to accuse Ukraine of military activities, drone operations and shelling in the vicinity of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and the occupied city of Enerhodar.

These accusations are yet another attempt to reverse the roles of aggressor and victim and divert international attention from Russia's illegal occupation and militarization of a Ukrainian nuclear facility.

It was Russia that brought military forces, weapons and equipment onto the premises of Europe's largest nuclear power plant. It is Russia's continued military presence and activities in and around the facility that create unacceptable risks to nuclear safety and security.

Ukraine has repeatedly drawn attention to the use of the occupied plant and its surrounding areas by Russian forces for military purposes, including drone operations against Ukrainian-controlled territory.

Russia cannot occupy a nuclear power plant, use its premises for military purposes, endanger its personnel and then lecture others about nuclear safety.

The most effective and lasting way to eliminate these risks is clear: Russia must withdraw its military personnel and equipment from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, return the facility to the full control of its legitimate Ukrainian authorities and cease its war of aggression against Ukraine.

 

Thank you, Madam President.