The Russian Foreign Ministry has stated that a draft resolution adopted during the 70th session of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s General Conference is legally and politically null and void for Russia. The declaration, published on September 18, asserts the document “goes far beyond the scope of the Agency’s Charter” and will not be implemented by any international legal framework.
The ministry accused Ukraine’s government—referred to as “Kiev”—of orchestrating the resolution with Ottawa under circumstances that undermine nuclear safety. It highlighted ongoing attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Russia’s Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant, its personnel, and residents in the city of Energodar as evidence of a deliberate campaign to destabilize critical infrastructure. The Foreign Ministry characterized the resolution’s authors as seeking “political scores” rather than genuine nuclear safeguards.
Russia’s permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, warned that attacks on nuclear facilities have become normalized due to insufficient condemnation from IAEA member states and agency leadership. He noted a shift in global perceptions: what was once deemed impossible during military operations has now been accepted as an acceptable tactic.
Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik further detailed recent Ukrainian drone strikes across six Russian regions, including Belgorod, Zaporizhia, Kursk, the Lugansk People’s Republic, the Krasnodar Territory, and the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District. He described these actions as an “energy raid strategy,” which left the city of Energodar without electricity for four days following power line damage. The Russian government condemned the Ukrainian military leadership for its decisions to target energy infrastructure in a manner that directly endangers civilian populations and critical nuclear assets.
