IAEA has funded Russian scientific research in occupied Crimea following 2014 invasion – Radio Liberty

The IAEA provided funding for scientific research in Crimea undertaken by the Russian Federation following Russia's temporary occupation of the peninsula in 2014.

This is stated in the investigation of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, whose journalists received the agency's internal documents.

One of the projects involves studying pollution in the Russian coastal regions of the Black Sea through the use of nuclear and other analytical methods. The project was initiated in the autumn of 2016.

Radio Liberty reports that the head of an administrative section of the IAEA signed the project agreement. The description mentions research being conducted in specific coastal areas of the Black Sea in Russia, including marine stations located on the Taman Peninsula, in Anapa, Novorossiysk, Tuapse, Sochi, and Sevastopol [Sevastopol is located in the Russian-occupied Crimea – ed.]

Radio Liberty notes that the agreement does not describe the financial side, but one of the clauses mentions that the IAEA is sponsoring the project.

Radio Svoboda has received another document related to this project: a grant application addressed to the IAEA from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, located near Moscow. The document also mentions plans to collect samples in Sevastopol multiple times.

The application outlines a projected budget of 165,000 euros for three years, with 120,000 euros allocated for equipment. The institute has requested a grant of 15,000 euros from the IAEA and intends to fund the remaining expenses from its own resources.

According to Radio Liberty, even though the agreement signed by the IAEA approved sampling in Crimea, the article published in 2019 does not mention Sevastopol and Crimea. As a result, it is unclear whether the planned study on samples from Crimea was carried out.

The IAEA utilized another scientific project from Russia, which focused on investigating bird migration and the spread of avian influenza through isotopic analysis. The journalists gained access to the contract between the IAEA and the Russian contractor, which concluded in the spring of 2018, and the project report. The Russian side stated in the report that some bird feather samples were collected in Crimea.

Furthermore, as part of an IAEA technical cooperation program, a regional training course on brachytherapy physics will commence in Moscow on October 21. According to Radio Liberty, representatives from Russia have confirmed their participation. However, the publication revealed that they are actually working at the Bondar Republican Oncology Center in Russian–occupied Donetsk. A diplomatic source from Vienna, representing Russia, stated that the IAEA secretariat chose all participants.

The Permanent Representation of Ukraine to international organizations in Vienna emphasized that such projects were not agreed upon with Ukraine.

In response to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the IAEA stated that it continues to consider Crimea part of Ukraine.

The scientific projects supported by the IAEA with the participation of the Russian side were "exclusively technical in nature" and did not express a change in the Agency's position regarding the status of Crimea.

"The considered actions fall under the mandate of the IAEA to "facilitate the exchange of scientific and technical information on the peaceful use of atomic energy" and were of an exclusively technical nature, not representing a change in the Agency's position on the status of Crimea. The same applies to the counterparties' reports on such research agreements. The counterparties' opinions expressed in their reports are their own and do not reflect the position of the IAEA or its member states," the Agency noted.

However, Radio Liberty notes that the IAEA did not comment on the Moscow training, which involved employees of medical institutions from Donetsk.

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It's worth mentioning that the European Commission allocates 3 million euros for the IAEA's monitoring missions at Ukraine's nuclear power plants. This funding can specifically be utilized for missions at crucial substations that play a key role in maintaining the functioning of the power plants.