03:45Mandatory credit: Rosatom
Rosatom State Corporation CEO Alexei Likhachev claimed that any strikes on the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) would risk damaging the 'entire nuclear power industry of the planet', while discussing the visit of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi to Kurchatov on Tuesday.
The trip came amid concerns about risks to the facility caused by the recent Ukrainian incursion.
"A strike on the Kursk NPP could be a strike on the entire nuclear power industry of the planet and would already cause irreparable damage to the development of nuclear power plants in the world as a whole, it seems to me that the IAEA has shared this point of view," Likhachev said.
He added that IAEA workers had 'promptly' responded to his invitation to visit and examined the situation at the plant 'in detail'.
"The results of specific attacks were presented, and there can be no ambiguity about who carried out these strikes, where it came from, in this case. Yes, the IAEA does say sometimes not what we want to hear. It lives by its own rules, its own norms. We will work patiently and continue to make our case," he added.
Rosatom's press service reported earlier in the day that an IAEA delegation headed by Grossi had arrived at Kursk NPP.
During talks with the Russian delegation, the IAEA director general emphasised that Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region had led to 'concerns about the security and the safety' of Kursk NPP. Grossi and Likhachev are expected to discuss the results of the visit at a joint meeting in Kaliningrad later.
Ukrainian forces entered the Kursk region on August 6 in an offensive described by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a 'large-scale provocation'. A counter-terrorist operation regime was introduced in the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions on August 9, while more than 133,000 people have been evacuated from the Kursk border districts.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as 'purely [a] security issue for Ukraine', with fighting ongoing.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
'Strike on the Kursk NPP could be strike on entire nuclear power industry of the planet' - Rosatom head Likhachev
Rosatom State Corporation CEO Alexei Likhachev claimed that any strikes on the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) would risk damaging the 'entire nuclear power industry of the planet', while discussing the visit of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi to Kurchatov on Tuesday.
The trip came amid concerns about risks to the facility caused by the recent Ukrainian incursion.
"A strike on the Kursk NPP could be a strike on the entire nuclear power industry of the planet and would already cause irreparable damage to the development of nuclear power plants in the world as a whole, it seems to me that the IAEA has shared this point of view," Likhachev said.
He added that IAEA workers had 'promptly' responded to his invitation to visit and examined the situation at the plant 'in detail'.
"The results of specific attacks were presented, and there can be no ambiguity about who carried out these strikes, where it came from, in this case. Yes, the IAEA does say sometimes not what we want to hear. It lives by its own rules, its own norms. We will work patiently and continue to make our case," he added.
Rosatom's press service reported earlier in the day that an IAEA delegation headed by Grossi had arrived at Kursk NPP.
During talks with the Russian delegation, the IAEA director general emphasised that Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region had led to 'concerns about the security and the safety' of Kursk NPP. Grossi and Likhachev are expected to discuss the results of the visit at a joint meeting in Kaliningrad later.
Ukrainian forces entered the Kursk region on August 6 in an offensive described by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a 'large-scale provocation'. A counter-terrorist operation regime was introduced in the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions on August 9, while more than 133,000 people have been evacuated from the Kursk border districts.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as 'purely [a] security issue for Ukraine', with fighting ongoing.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
Mandatory credit: Rosatom
Rosatom State Corporation CEO Alexei Likhachev claimed that any strikes on the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) would risk damaging the 'entire nuclear power industry of the planet', while discussing the visit of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi to Kurchatov on Tuesday.
The trip came amid concerns about risks to the facility caused by the recent Ukrainian incursion.
"A strike on the Kursk NPP could be a strike on the entire nuclear power industry of the planet and would already cause irreparable damage to the development of nuclear power plants in the world as a whole, it seems to me that the IAEA has shared this point of view," Likhachev said.
He added that IAEA workers had 'promptly' responded to his invitation to visit and examined the situation at the plant 'in detail'.
"The results of specific attacks were presented, and there can be no ambiguity about who carried out these strikes, where it came from, in this case. Yes, the IAEA does say sometimes not what we want to hear. It lives by its own rules, its own norms. We will work patiently and continue to make our case," he added.
Rosatom's press service reported earlier in the day that an IAEA delegation headed by Grossi had arrived at Kursk NPP.
During talks with the Russian delegation, the IAEA director general emphasised that Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region had led to 'concerns about the security and the safety' of Kursk NPP. Grossi and Likhachev are expected to discuss the results of the visit at a joint meeting in Kaliningrad later.
Ukrainian forces entered the Kursk region on August 6 in an offensive described by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a 'large-scale provocation'. A counter-terrorist operation regime was introduced in the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions on August 9, while more than 133,000 people have been evacuated from the Kursk border districts.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as 'purely [a] security issue for Ukraine', with fighting ongoing.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.