Russia Putin accuses Ukraine of attempted nuclear attack without evidence
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine of an attempted attack on the Kursk nuclear power plant. However, he did not provide any evidence at a meeting in Moscow on the situation in the Russian border region.
22.08.2024, 16:03
SDA
Ukrainian troops have been advancing into hostile territory there for a good two weeks. "The enemy tried to attack the Kursk nuclear power plant today," Putin said, according to the state news agency Tass.
Putin said that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had been informed and was preparing a mission to Kursk. The nuclear power plant in the town of Kurchatov is located around 30 kilometers from the outermost Ukrainian advance. It is unclear whether the nuclear facility is a target of the Ukrainian advance at all. Security measures there have been tightened.
Atomic Energy Agency confirms mission to Kursk
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, will visit the Kursk nuclear power plant next week. This was confirmed by his spokesman to the German Press Agency after Grossi announced this in the London "Financial Times". The nuclear power plant is within range of Ukrainian artillery positions, the IAEA Director General told the newspaper. "As there is fighting, I am very concerned," he said. Among other things, Grossi wants to clarify on site whether the facility has already been targeted.
After the Ukrainian advance began, the authority warned that the safety of nuclear power plants must not be jeopardized. The same applies to Kursk as to the Russian-occupied Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia.
