The power supply issues at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in Ukraine underline the urgency of agreeing and implementing a framework proposed by the International Atomic Energy Agency to ensure the safety and security of all of the country’s nuclear facilities, including its four operating nuclear power stations, the agency’s director-general Rafael Grossi said.

Mr Grossi has proposed a framework for safety and security that would enable the IAEA to deliver technical and other assistance for the operation of all of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities, which he discussed last week in meetings in Turkey with the Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.

Following his trip to Turkey, Mr Grossi said he was going to be presenting detailed ideas to both sides, potentially including the possibility of placing IAEA experts in Ukraine, but he said “first we need an agreed framework and understanding of what it is we are talking about”.