International IAEA chief warns of danger for Russian Kursk nuclear power plant
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, has warned of the danger to the reactor during a visit to Russia's Kursk nuclear power plant near the front line.
The nuclear power plant in the city of Kurchatov is a nuclear object that is in operation, Grossi said in a statement broadcast by Russian state television. "And attacks can end dangerously," he said, according to a Russian translation. The fighting in the area caused serious concern.
Accordingly, Grossi warned of the danger of a nuclear incident in the event of fighting directly at the nuclear power plant. The reactors have no protective casing, which makes them particularly vulnerable to damage in the event of a drone attack or artillery fire.
So far, however, operations have been running almost normally, said Grossi. He had visited the most important buildings, including the reactor and machine halls, the control unit and the storage facility for spent fuel elements.
According to the Russian nuclear energy holding company Rosatom, Grossi also took a look at the traces left at the plant following suspected Ukrainian attacks. According to Russian sources, the IAEA chief once again demanded that the rules for nuclear safety must be observed. Nuclear power plants must not be used as targets of war, he emphasized.
Grossi plans talks with President Selenskyj in Kiev
After the start of the Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region on August 6, Russia reported that debris from a missile had fallen onto the nuclear power plant site. Russian President Vladimir Putin had also accused Ukraine of attempting to attack the nuclear power plant on August 22.
Grossi said that Putin himself had invited him to visit the nuclear power plant. It was important to keep the channels of communication open and to continue the cooperation. According to Grossi, he also wants to travel to Kiev to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selensky.
They will discuss the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, which is occupied by Russian troops, and other nuclear facilities in the country. Grossi said that Kiev had asked for an expansion of the IAEA presence in Ukraine. IAEA experts are working at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant.
Grossi has already visited the Russian-occupied Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia several times and stationed an IAEA team there. The permanent presence of the international experts not only serves to monitor the situation, but also to deter hostilities that could trigger a nuclear accident.
Civil defense: radiation levels within normal range
According to the Russian Civil Defense, the radiation levels in Kurchatov were within the normal range. The ecological situation is being monitored around the clock, it said.
The nuclear power plant in the town of Kurchatov is located around 30 kilometers from the outermost Ukrainian advance. According to Ukrainian sources, the advance is continuing. So far, however, it is unclear whether the nuclear power plant is a target of the Ukrainian advance.
The head of Rosatom, Alexei Lichtschow, announced that he wanted to meet Grossi in Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea next week to discuss the results of the visit to Kursk. According to Russian media, there was an air alert during Grossi's stay due to allegedly possible missile strikes.
