IAEA head to visit Kursk nuclear power plant

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi will visit the Kursk nuclear power plant next week.

Director General of the Rosatom State Atomiс Energy Corporation Aleksey Likhachev has warned Grossi about the deteriorating situation at the Kursk and Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plants due to actions by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.  

He stated that Ukrainian military activities are also undermining the IAEA’s principles on nuclear safety.

On August 9, the UN nuclear agency called on Moscow and Kyiv to exercise "maximum restraint" to "prevent a nuclear accident with potentially severe radiological consequences," as fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces approached the power plant.

The IAEA reports that the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant consists of six units: two are shut down, two are fully operational, and two are under construction. Kyiv claims to have taken control of numerous towns and villages in the Kursk region, while tens of thousands of Russian civilians have evacuated from conflict-affected areas. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the IAEA has frequently warned both sides about the risks to nuclear power plants. The security situation at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has also worsened following a nearby drone strike. Seized by Russian forces early in the war, the plant has faced repeated attacks, with both Ukraine and Russia blaming each other.