China is giving €200,000 ($210,000) to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to help safeguard Ukraine's nuclear facilities, one of its first such donations amid the crisis.
The fund to help protect nuclear infrastructure in the conflict-stricken country was announced by China's ambassador in Vienna at an IAEA meeting earlier this week.
It follows repeated warnings from various international agencies and governments to prevent a potential nuclear disaster from happening at all costs.
Despite concerns of a full-scale nuclear catastrophe subsiding over recent months, the IAEA has in 2023 continued to report powerful explosions occurring near Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya power plant, one of the largest nuclear facilities in Europe.
The donation will go to help protect nuclear sites in Ukraine such as the Zaporizhzhya power plant, the biggest nuclear facility in Europe. /Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
An explosion at the site, President Volodymr Zelenskyy has said, would be equivalent to "six Chernobyls," a reference to the Ukrainian reactor meltdown of 1986, seen as the most catastrophic nuclear disaster in history.
"China has always attached great importance to security issues," its foreign ministry said in response to news of the donation.
Beijing's position on the Ukraine crisis, referenced in its recently released 12-point 'peace position' document, had always stressed the importance of opposing armed attacks on nuclear facilities, it added.
"China supports the IAEA's constructive role in promoting the safety and security of peaceful nuclear facilities," it said.
The decision to put forward the funds, the ministry said, was part of ongoing efforts to work with the international community to promote the establishment of a "fair, cooperative and mutually beneficial international security system."
"We will also continue to promote peace talks, support a political solution to the Ukraine crisis, and eliminate the root causes of nuclear safety risks," it added.
The announcement came as IAEA Director General Grossi earlier this month reiterated his determination to help protect the Zaporizhzhya site by implementing a nuclear protection zone there, saying he was speaking with both Ukraine and Russian officials about the issue.
Separately, IAEA teams have also been rotating at three other nuclear facilities in Ukraine as the agency attempts to establish a continued presence amid the conflict.