Agency head says he will evaluate safety and security conditions
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director-general Rafael Grossi has said he will personally lead a visit to Russia’s Kursk nuclear power station on Tuesday (27 August).
In a statement on 26 August Grossi said: “I am personally leading the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission to the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) in the Russian Federation.
“Since new developments and increased levels of military activity in the vicinity of the KNPP, I have been closely following developments on the ground, especially with respect to the plant,” Grossi said.
“I reiterate that the safety and security of nuclear facilities must, under no circumstances, be endangered.
“This is an evolving situation, and it is vital when I arrive at the plant tomorrow that I see first-hand the situation and discuss modalities for further activities as may be needed to evaluate the nuclear safety and security conditions of the KNPP.”
Grossi said last week he planned to visit the nuclear station in southwest Russia, saying he was taking “very seriously” the risk that the facility could be damaged during Ukraine’s incursion into the region.
Grossi told the Financial Times in an interview that the Kursk station was “technically within artillery range” of Ukrainian positions. “And since there is combat, I’m very concerned.”
Grossi said he would talk to Kursk’s managers and gather any evidence of whether it had already been targeted. He also wants to assess the state of external power supply and access routes to the plant, noting the recent Ukrainian destruction of bridges across the Seym river in the west of the region.
Kursk has two nuclear units in commercial operation, two under construction and two that have been permanently shut down.
Grossi’s plans to visit the facility were announced as the IAEA said it had been told by Russia on 22 August that the remains of a drone were found within the territory of the power plant.
The drone fragments were reported to have been found roughly 100 metres from the plant’s spent fuel nuclear storage facility. The IAEA was informed that the drone was “suppressed” in the early morning of 22 August.
