'Danger of nuclear accident has...': IAEA chief's warning for Russia's 'vulnerable' Kursk plant

UN nuclear agency chief Rafael Grossi said after visiting Russia’s Kursk nuclear power plant on Tuesday that there was a risk of a nuclear accident and the situation was serious.

According to a Politico report, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Grossi led a mission to the nuclear site after Russian President Vladimir Putin alleged it was shelled following Ukraine’s incursion into the area. However, Kyiv has denied targeting the plant.

“The danger or possibility of a nuclear accident has emerged near here,” Grossi was quoted as saying, referring to the fact that fighting is taking place in the surrounding Kursk region.

“I was informed about the impact of the drones. I was shown some of the remnants of them and signs of the impact they had,” Grossi added, without saying who was responsible.

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Addressing a press conference, Grossi said that the plant was extremely fragile because it had no protective dome.

“The core of the reactor containing nuclear material is protected just by a normal roof, he said, adding, “This makes it extremely exposed and fragile, for example, to an artillery impact or a drone or a missile.”

“A nuclear power plant of this type, so close to a point of contact or a military front, is an extremely serious fact that we take very seriously,” he said.

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He said the site was currently still operating very close to normal conditions, but this meant that the situation regarding its security was even more serious.

“My message is the same for everyone: no nuclear accident can happen. It is our responsibility to make sure of that,” Grossi said at the news conference, adding that the agency won’t take sides in the Russian-Ukrainian war.

“This conflict, this war, is not the responsibility of the IAEA,” he added.

Russian state nuclear company Rosenergoatom said Grossi had been able to satisfy himself that the plant’s Number Three reactor was working at planned capacity, while its fourth reactor has been undergoing scheduled maintenance since Sunday. He was also shown a new reactor block that is under construction, it said.

With inputs from agencies