Cyber Security and Crisis Management: WINS Forges Global Nuclear Pacts
The World Institute for Nuclear Security (WINS) in Vienna is forging strategic partnerships with Rwanda and Ukraine. While East Africa prepares to enter the nuclear power sector, the war-torn Eastern European country is sharing valuable lessons learned from its experience in combating cyber threats and sabotage.
Ukraine's nuclear facilities face significant challenges from military conflicts, ongoing attacks on energy infrastructure, and the illegal occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons /Ralf1969, CC BY-SA 3.0
Ensuring nuclear safety faces entirely new challenges amid global geopolitical tensions and technological advances. Against this backdrop, the Vienna-based World Institute for Nuclear Safety (WINS) signed two groundbreaking memorandums of understanding (MoUs) this spring. The new partnerships with Rwanda, an emerging African nation, and the long-established Ukrainian Nuclear Society (UkrNS) are intended to bridge knowledge gaps and make the global security architecture crisis-resistant.
Rwanda’s Ambitious Path to Becoming a Nuclear Power
At the end of May, WINS and the Rwanda Atomic Energy Board (RAEB) formalized a close partnership. The goal: capacity building, professional certification, and the protection of radioactive materials.
For Rwanda, this is a logical step in a long-term, ambitious strategy. The East African country aims to be among the high-income nations by 2050. Since this requires a massive and reliable power supply, the government in Kigali is fully committed to nuclear power. Shortly before signing the agreement with WINS, Rwanda signed a strategic agreement with the U.S. and the U.S. company Holtec International at the Nuclear Energy Innovation Summit for Africa (NEISA) to install advanced small modular reactors (SMR-300) in the country. The first reactors are expected to come online as early as the early 2030s.
“Through this partnership, we are investing in people and institutions,” explained Lars van Dassen, Executive Director of WINS. Among other things, the agreement aims to strengthen cybersecurity and ward off threats from insider threats. RAEB Director Dr. Fidele Ndahayo also highlighted a specific social aspect: The collaboration explicitly aims to promote the participation of women and youth in this high-tech sector.
Ukraine: Learning from the Crisis
Back in April, WINS formed a similar alliance with the Ukrainian Nuclear Society (UkrNS), which represents more than 3,000 scientists and experts. The focus here is on knowledge exchange, which has been tested in practice under extreme conditions. For years, Ukraine’s nuclear facilities have been under immense pressure due to military conflicts, constant attacks on energy infrastructure, and the illegal occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
“Learning from Ukraine’s wealth of experience helps the global community better anticipate risks and build resilient, safe nuclear facilities in an increasingly complex threat environment,” emphasized van Dassen. In addition to cybersecurity, key areas of cooperation include securing supply chains and protection against sabotage. According to UkrNS President Volodymyr Kholosha, the alliance offers Ukrainian professionals new opportunities for international growth and strengthens public confidence in the safety of nuclear technology—a crucial factor, as Ukraine is already planning the modernization and construction of new regional reactors despite the war.
Two Paths, One Global Goal
The two agreements illustrate how modern nuclear diplomacy must take a two-pronged approach: On the one hand, it is essential to train newcomers like Rwanda from the very beginning according to the highest international safety standards. On the other hand, the hard lessons learned by established nuclear nations such as Ukraine—which must prove themselves in active crisis zones—must be immediately and systematically analyzed and shared globally.