The United Kingdom has issued a stark warning to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors, highlighting a significant and escalating risk to nuclear safety across Ukraine. In a statement delivered in June 2026, the UK attributed the 'progressively degrading operating environment' directly to Russia's illegal invasion and ongoing aggression, stressing that the situation is worsening rather than static.
A primary concern raised was a recent drone strike against the Centralised Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility at Chornobyl. The UK described this incident, which occurred within a vast exclusion zone and well outside any immediate military necessity, as 'reckless and wilful irresponsibility'. While acknowledging that the strike did not result in immediate radiological consequences, the UK underscored that it demonstrates how narrow safety margins have become, now dependent on circumstance rather than control.
The statement detailed a troubling pattern of persistent and widespread military activity affecting all of Ukraine's nuclear sites, including the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP). Numerous incidents of grid instability and attacks on energy infrastructure have led to repeated reliance on emergency systems. For instance, the Rivne NPP experienced a continuous disconnection of one power line, while Chornobyl, Khmelnytskyy, and South Ukraine NPPs all lost off-site power lines on 26 February. Chornobyl also faced a prolonged disconnection on 14 March, necessitating the activation of emergency diesel generators.
The ZNPP, in particular, has seen continued reliance on a single power line and suffered repeated losses of off-site power on multiple dates in April and May, bringing the total number of 'loss of off-site power' (LOOP) events at the plant to sixteen since the conflict began. The UK emphasised that these incidents, even without immediate radiological release, are serious as each disruption erodes 'defence-in-depth' and reduces the critical safety margins for secure nuclear operations. The IAEA's reports of a drone strike on the turbine hall at ZNPP further illustrate this worsening risk environment.
While commending the IAEA Director General's efforts to broker temporary ceasefire arrangements for critical repair work at ZNPP, the UK made it clear that such measures should not be necessary. The statement concluded that the simplest and most effective way to reduce nuclear risk is for Russia to cease its aggression and withdraw from Ukraine, asserting that nothing less will create the conditions required for safe and secure nuclear operations.
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) currently advises against all travel to Ukraine due to the ongoing conflict. British nationals in Ukraine are advised to leave if it is safe to do so.