06:42Mandatory credit: Rosatom
Rosatom Director General Alexei Likhachev claimed that the Chernobyl disaster of 1986 would be just a 'warm-up' compared to a potential strike on the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), following consultations with the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) Rafael Grossi and the Defence Ministry in Russia’s northwestern city of Kaliningrad on Friday.
"We are in absolute solidarity with the IAEA leadership that a strike on the Kursk NPP would be a blow to the nuclear power industry of the entire planet. <...> Chernobyl will seem like a warm-up compared to what might happen if a military attack strikes a working RBMK-1000 reactor," Likhachev said.
The Rosatom CEO also explained that the plant lacks concrete shielding around its reactor, making it particularly vulnerable to attack by light ordnance such as drones.
Likhachev claimed that the IAEA had recorded direct safety threats to the plant, its employees, and the residents of Kurchatov.
Meanwhile, the IAEA’s Director General added that nuclear plants could 'under no circumstance' be attacked by the military.
"They are not legitimate military targets. <...> The continuity of our presence of the IAEA is an asset for the international community, is an asset for Russia, is an asset for Ukraine, is an asset for nuclear safety and security, and we need to protect it. We need to enlarge it as possible," he said.
Following an IAEA visit to the Kursk NPP last month, Grossi warned of the risk of a 'nuclear incident' due to military operations unfolding nearby - after Ukrainian forces entered the Kursk region.
Grossi also visited the ZNPP on Wednesday, the fifth time since 2022, and inspected damaged cooling systems following claims of a UAV strike. Both sides blamed each other for that attack, while Grossi called the strikes 'reckless'. Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of repeated strikes on the facility at Zaporozhye since 2022.
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. Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
If Kursk NPP attacked, 'Chernobyl will seem like a warm-up' - Rosatom CEO Likhachev
Rosatom Director General Alexei Likhachev claimed that the Chernobyl disaster of 1986 would be just a 'warm-up' compared to a potential strike on the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), following consultations with the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) Rafael Grossi and the Defence Ministry in Russia’s northwestern city of Kaliningrad on Friday.
"We are in absolute solidarity with the IAEA leadership that a strike on the Kursk NPP would be a blow to the nuclear power industry of the entire planet. <...> Chernobyl will seem like a warm-up compared to what might happen if a military attack strikes a working RBMK-1000 reactor," Likhachev said.
The Rosatom CEO also explained that the plant lacks concrete shielding around its reactor, making it particularly vulnerable to attack by light ordnance such as drones.
Likhachev claimed that the IAEA had recorded direct safety threats to the plant, its employees, and the residents of Kurchatov.
Meanwhile, the IAEA’s Director General added that nuclear plants could 'under no circumstance' be attacked by the military.
"They are not legitimate military targets. <...> The continuity of our presence of the IAEA is an asset for the international community, is an asset for Russia, is an asset for Ukraine, is an asset for nuclear safety and security, and we need to protect it. We need to enlarge it as possible," he said.
Following an IAEA visit to the Kursk NPP last month, Grossi warned of the risk of a 'nuclear incident' due to military operations unfolding nearby - after Ukrainian forces entered the Kursk region.
Grossi also visited the ZNPP on Wednesday, the fifth time since 2022, and inspected damaged cooling systems following claims of a UAV strike. Both sides blamed each other for that attack, while Grossi called the strikes 'reckless'. Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of repeated strikes on the facility at Zaporozhye since 2022.
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. Ukraine's Volodymyr 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 Director General Alexei Likhachev claimed that the Chernobyl disaster of 1986 would be just a 'warm-up' compared to a potential strike on the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), following consultations with the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) Rafael Grossi and the Defence Ministry in Russia’s northwestern city of Kaliningrad on Friday.
"We are in absolute solidarity with the IAEA leadership that a strike on the Kursk NPP would be a blow to the nuclear power industry of the entire planet. <...> Chernobyl will seem like a warm-up compared to what might happen if a military attack strikes a working RBMK-1000 reactor," Likhachev said.
The Rosatom CEO also explained that the plant lacks concrete shielding around its reactor, making it particularly vulnerable to attack by light ordnance such as drones.
Likhachev claimed that the IAEA had recorded direct safety threats to the plant, its employees, and the residents of Kurchatov.
Meanwhile, the IAEA’s Director General added that nuclear plants could 'under no circumstance' be attacked by the military.
"They are not legitimate military targets. <...> The continuity of our presence of the IAEA is an asset for the international community, is an asset for Russia, is an asset for Ukraine, is an asset for nuclear safety and security, and we need to protect it. We need to enlarge it as possible," he said.
Following an IAEA visit to the Kursk NPP last month, Grossi warned of the risk of a 'nuclear incident' due to military operations unfolding nearby - after Ukrainian forces entered the Kursk region.
Grossi also visited the ZNPP on Wednesday, the fifth time since 2022, and inspected damaged cooling systems following claims of a UAV strike. Both sides blamed each other for that attack, while Grossi called the strikes 'reckless'. Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of repeated strikes on the facility at Zaporozhye since 2022.
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. Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.