Governments need to establish clear political and legal commitments that protect nuclear facilities during armed conflict, with too many countries holding “ambiguous, hedged positions” on the legality and viability of targeting nuclear facilities, a report says.

The report, by the Washington-based nonprofit global security organisation Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), says one simple and straightforward way to help remedy this is to formally and universally endorse the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) seven essential pillars of nuclear safety and security, which can be done through national statements and declarations.

The report says that for the first time, an invading army has occupied an operating civilian nuclear facility. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and seizure of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station is a stark example of the new wave of risks that nuclear facilities can face.