06:06Mandatory credit: 00:00 - 05:29 - Rosatom
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi warned that existing military activity near the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) could trigger a 'nuclear accident' following an inspection of the facility during his visit to Kurchatov on Tuesday.
"With the recent developments and military activity relatively close to this town, the region, and the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, The danger or the possibility of a nuclear accident has emerged near here. <...> I was informed about the impact of drones. I was shown some of the remnants of those and signs of the impact they had. Apart from that, the fact that we have, as I said, military activity a few miles from here, a few kilometres from here, make it an immediate point of attention," he said.
Grossi noted that the NPP is vulnerable to external influences, as it lacks a 'containment dome and protective structure'.
"This nuclear power plant is of the RBMK type, which basically means that it does not have the containment dome and protective structure that is typical to most of the most current, more current nuclear power plants. What does this mean? This means that the core of the reactor containing nuclear material is protected just by a normal roof. This makes it extremely exposed," he said
"This is very, very important. If there is an impact on the core, the material is there, and the consequences could be extremely serious," Grossi continued.
The IAEA head also claimed that he maintained 'close contact' with Rosatom, Russian security and defence forces and officials, underlining that 'channels of dialogue' played an 'indispensable' role and should remain open.
On Tuesday, Grossi arrived in Kurchatov at the invitation of Rosatom head Alexei Likhachev to inspect 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 the facility.
"We assumed and evaluated that it would be important for me and for the experts to conduct this visit in order to have a first assessment of the situation here on site," Grossi added.
In turn, Likhachev noted 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," Likhachev said.
Rosatom's press service reported that 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.
'Danger of nuclear accident has emerged' - IAEA's Grossi warns Kursk NPP at risk following Ukraine incursion
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi warned that existing military activity near the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) could trigger a 'nuclear accident' following an inspection of the facility during his visit to Kurchatov on Tuesday.
"With the recent developments and military activity relatively close to this town, the region, and the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, The danger or the possibility of a nuclear accident has emerged near here. <...> I was informed about the impact of drones. I was shown some of the remnants of those and signs of the impact they had. Apart from that, the fact that we have, as I said, military activity a few miles from here, a few kilometres from here, make it an immediate point of attention," he said.
Grossi noted that the NPP is vulnerable to external influences, as it lacks a 'containment dome and protective structure'.
"This nuclear power plant is of the RBMK type, which basically means that it does not have the containment dome and protective structure that is typical to most of the most current, more current nuclear power plants. What does this mean? This means that the core of the reactor containing nuclear material is protected just by a normal roof. This makes it extremely exposed," he said
"This is very, very important. If there is an impact on the core, the material is there, and the consequences could be extremely serious," Grossi continued.
The IAEA head also claimed that he maintained 'close contact' with Rosatom, Russian security and defence forces and officials, underlining that 'channels of dialogue' played an 'indispensable' role and should remain open.
On Tuesday, Grossi arrived in Kurchatov at the invitation of Rosatom head Alexei Likhachev to inspect 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 the facility.
"We assumed and evaluated that it would be important for me and for the experts to conduct this visit in order to have a first assessment of the situation here on site," Grossi added.
In turn, Likhachev noted 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," Likhachev said.
Rosatom's press service reported that 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: 00:00 - 05:29 - Rosatom
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi warned that existing military activity near the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) could trigger a 'nuclear accident' following an inspection of the facility during his visit to Kurchatov on Tuesday.
"With the recent developments and military activity relatively close to this town, the region, and the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, The danger or the possibility of a nuclear accident has emerged near here. <...> I was informed about the impact of drones. I was shown some of the remnants of those and signs of the impact they had. Apart from that, the fact that we have, as I said, military activity a few miles from here, a few kilometres from here, make it an immediate point of attention," he said.
Grossi noted that the NPP is vulnerable to external influences, as it lacks a 'containment dome and protective structure'.
"This nuclear power plant is of the RBMK type, which basically means that it does not have the containment dome and protective structure that is typical to most of the most current, more current nuclear power plants. What does this mean? This means that the core of the reactor containing nuclear material is protected just by a normal roof. This makes it extremely exposed," he said
"This is very, very important. If there is an impact on the core, the material is there, and the consequences could be extremely serious," Grossi continued.
The IAEA head also claimed that he maintained 'close contact' with Rosatom, Russian security and defence forces and officials, underlining that 'channels of dialogue' played an 'indispensable' role and should remain open.
On Tuesday, Grossi arrived in Kurchatov at the invitation of Rosatom head Alexei Likhachev to inspect 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 the facility.
"We assumed and evaluated that it would be important for me and for the experts to conduct this visit in order to have a first assessment of the situation here on site," Grossi added.
In turn, Likhachev noted 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," Likhachev said.
Rosatom's press service reported that 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.