04:18International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi visited Gymnasium No. 1 in Kurchatov on Tuesday, following an inspection of the Kursk nuclear power plant.
Footage shows Grossi, accompanied by city officials and educational staff, touring classrooms and the gymnasium.
A teacher at the gymnasium informed Grossi that due to ongoing shelling in the region, this year’s events for Knowledge Day, celebrated for the first day of school term, will be conducted online. Mayor Igor Korpunkov announced that the school year will start with distance learning for safety reasons.
"A state of emergency has been introduced in the Kursk region, including Kurchatov, and security measures have been heightened. We are preparing for the new school year with distance learning to prevent any risks to children, as we continue to experience shelling," Korpunkov stated.
He added that all social infrastructure is operational, although there are restrictions on public events in Kurchatov.
Rosatom's press service reported that an IAEA delegation headed by Rafael Grossi visited Kursk NPP at the invitation of the state corporation head Alexei Likhachev and ‘assessed the nuclear safety risks posed by attacks on the facility’.
Prior to his visit to the school, Grossi addressed the media in Kurchatov following his inspection.
“With the recent developments and military activity relatively close to this town and to the region, and to the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant. The danger or the possibility of a nuclear accident has emerged near here," he said.
Grossi and Rosatom head Alexei Likhachev are scheduled to discuss the visit's outcomes at a joint meeting in Kaliningrad later. During earlier discussions with the Russian delegation, Grossi expressed concerns over the security of the Kursk NPP following Ukraine's incursion into the region.
Ukrainian forces entered the Kursk region on August 6, which Russian President Vladimir Putin labelled as a "large-scale provocation." In response, a counter-terrorist operation regime was established in the Kursk, Belgorod, and Bryansk regions on August 9, and over 133,000 people have been evacuated from the Kursk border districts.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as a 'security issue for Ukraine,' with fighting continuing.
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.
IAEA's Grossi visits school in Kursk region after warning of 'nuclear accident' amid Ukraine incursion
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi visited Gymnasium No. 1 in Kurchatov on Tuesday, following an inspection of the Kursk nuclear power plant.
Footage shows Grossi, accompanied by city officials and educational staff, touring classrooms and the gymnasium.
A teacher at the gymnasium informed Grossi that due to ongoing shelling in the region, this year’s events for Knowledge Day, celebrated for the first day of school term, will be conducted online. Mayor Igor Korpunkov announced that the school year will start with distance learning for safety reasons.
"A state of emergency has been introduced in the Kursk region, including Kurchatov, and security measures have been heightened. We are preparing for the new school year with distance learning to prevent any risks to children, as we continue to experience shelling," Korpunkov stated.
He added that all social infrastructure is operational, although there are restrictions on public events in Kurchatov.
Rosatom's press service reported that an IAEA delegation headed by Rafael Grossi visited Kursk NPP at the invitation of the state corporation head Alexei Likhachev and ‘assessed the nuclear safety risks posed by attacks on the facility’.
Prior to his visit to the school, Grossi addressed the media in Kurchatov following his inspection.
“With the recent developments and military activity relatively close to this town and to the region, and to the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant. The danger or the possibility of a nuclear accident has emerged near here," he said.
Grossi and Rosatom head Alexei Likhachev are scheduled to discuss the visit's outcomes at a joint meeting in Kaliningrad later. During earlier discussions with the Russian delegation, Grossi expressed concerns over the security of the Kursk NPP following Ukraine's incursion into the region.
Ukrainian forces entered the Kursk region on August 6, which Russian President Vladimir Putin labelled as a "large-scale provocation." In response, a counter-terrorist operation regime was established in the Kursk, Belgorod, and Bryansk regions on August 9, and over 133,000 people have been evacuated from the Kursk border districts.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as a 'security issue for Ukraine,' with fighting continuing.
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.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi visited Gymnasium No. 1 in Kurchatov on Tuesday, following an inspection of the Kursk nuclear power plant.
Footage shows Grossi, accompanied by city officials and educational staff, touring classrooms and the gymnasium.
A teacher at the gymnasium informed Grossi that due to ongoing shelling in the region, this year’s events for Knowledge Day, celebrated for the first day of school term, will be conducted online. Mayor Igor Korpunkov announced that the school year will start with distance learning for safety reasons.
"A state of emergency has been introduced in the Kursk region, including Kurchatov, and security measures have been heightened. We are preparing for the new school year with distance learning to prevent any risks to children, as we continue to experience shelling," Korpunkov stated.
He added that all social infrastructure is operational, although there are restrictions on public events in Kurchatov.
Rosatom's press service reported that an IAEA delegation headed by Rafael Grossi visited Kursk NPP at the invitation of the state corporation head Alexei Likhachev and ‘assessed the nuclear safety risks posed by attacks on the facility’.
Prior to his visit to the school, Grossi addressed the media in Kurchatov following his inspection.
“With the recent developments and military activity relatively close to this town and to the region, and to the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant. The danger or the possibility of a nuclear accident has emerged near here," he said.
Grossi and Rosatom head Alexei Likhachev are scheduled to discuss the visit's outcomes at a joint meeting in Kaliningrad later. During earlier discussions with the Russian delegation, Grossi expressed concerns over the security of the Kursk NPP following Ukraine's incursion into the region.
Ukrainian forces entered the Kursk region on August 6, which Russian President Vladimir Putin labelled as a "large-scale provocation." In response, a counter-terrorist operation regime was established in the Kursk, Belgorod, and Bryansk regions on August 9, and over 133,000 people have been evacuated from the Kursk border districts.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as a 'security issue for Ukraine,' with fighting continuing.
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.