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The IAEA, while officially recognizing Crimea as Ukrainian, could have been involved in financing Russian research in occupied Crimea.

This was stated in an investigation by Radio Liberty journalists.

As is known, Kyiv persistently opposes any international initiatives or events in the territories temporarily occupied by Russia.

However, the publication obtained internal IAEA documents related to two scientific projects that received the agency’s support.

The first project concerns the study of pollution in the coastal areas of the Black Sea using nuclear and other analytical methods. The project agreement, signed by the head of one of the IAEA sections, states that the program includes the study of both inorganic and organic pollutants in selected Russian coastal areas of the Black Sea, such as Taman, Anapa, Novorossiysk, Tuapse, Sochi and Sevastopol.

According to Olga Kosharna, a former member of the Board of the State Inspectorate for Nuclear Regulation of Ukraine, this is a violation, since the IAEA officially recognizes Sevastopol as Ukrainian territory, as well as the Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporozhye regions and other occupied areas.

The executor of this project was the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research from Dubna, and the leading researcher was Marina Frontasyeva, representing the Neutron Physics Laboratory. The documentation mentions that the IAEA is the sponsor of the project.

In addition, investigators identified another project related to the study of bird migration and the spread of avian influenza using isotope analysis, which was concluded in the spring of 2018 between the IAEA and the Russian Federal Center for Animal Health. In accordance with the contract, the center was supposed to receive 60 thousand euros from the IAEA, while the report indicated that some of the feather samples were collected in Crimea. However, it is unknown whether this was agreed upon with the agency in advance.

It is also reported that on October 21, a regional course on the physics of brachytherapy, which is funded by the IAEA as part of one of the technical cooperation programs, will be held in Moscow. The total cost of the program is almost $2 million, and the participants will be 22 people from Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Russia, selected by the IAEA secretariat.

Kosharnaya notes that after the start of the full-scale invasion, Russian influence in the IAEA did not change: the number of Russian employees in the secretariat remained the same, and the Russian Federation continues to be part of the Board of Directors. At the same time, Russia’s contributions to the IAEA budget in 2024 amount to only 1.8%, while the United States contributes 25%, China – almost 15%, and Germany – 6%.

The IAEA, in turn, states that it continues to consider Crimea to be part of Ukraine and claims that the above projects are “purely technical in nature.” The Permanent Mission of Ukraine to international organizations in Vienna emphasizes that Kyiv is categorically against any international initiatives in the temporarily occupied territories, including Crimea and Sevastopol, as this violates the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. All such projects were not agreed upon with the Ukrainian side.

Let’s remember that “Cursor” wrote that this week in Kazan, the Russian city, Vladimir Putin will meet with the leaders of more than 20 countries, representing almost half of the world’s population. Attendees are expected to include influential figures such as Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.