U.S. Enters Vote Against Ukraine in Energy Feud

 

 

“For the first time, the U.S. sided Thursday with Russia and China in a dispute at the United Nations atomic agency over the danger posed by attacks on Ukraine's nuclear power, showing Washington's increasing alignment with Moscow.

 

The U.S. opposed a resolution at the U.N. atomic agency that was backed by a host of European countries as well as Australia, Canada, Argentina and Chile. The resolution didn't mention Russia, according to a draft seen by The Wall Street Journal. It warned that attacks on Ukraine electrical substations and other energy infrastructure pose a direct threat to nuclear safety.

 

"We should be unequivocal that any attacks against infrastructure that could put at risk the ability of nuclear power plants to operate safely are off limits," said Eric Brewer, an official at the Nuclear Materials Security Program at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a Washington think tank.

 

Despite U.S. opposition, it passed 20-4. Niger was the other country to oppose it.

 

The U.S.'s interim Charge d'affaires, Howard Solomon, said the U.S. shares the concerns about the potential danger to Ukraine energy infrastructure and called on all parties to refrain from actions that could result in a nuclear safety incident. But, he said, the U.S. didn't support an "unnecessary resolution that does not help achieve peace between Ukraine and Russia."

 

Russia has attacked Ukraine's energy infrastructure, causing blackouts in freezing temperatures. The attacks on electrical substations have risked cutting power to Ukraine's nuclear stations.

 

Fighting around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has knocked out power lines to the facility numerous times, forcing it to rely on generators. On several occasions, the International Atomic Energy Agency has negotiated truces between Russia and Ukraine forces to allow power lines to be repaired.

 

Last year, the U.S. opposed resolutions at the U.N. criticizing Russia over its pursuit of a victory.

 

Diplomats said the U.S. had abstained last September on an IAEA resolution that called for Russia to return Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to Ukrainian control. Russia seized the plant, the biggest in Europe, in the first days of the Ukraine conflict.” [1]

 

1. World News: U.S. Enters Vote Against Ukraine in Energy Feud. Norman, Laurence.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 06 Mar 2026: A8.