The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency Raphael Grossi expressed concern today about the safety of the Kursk nuclear power plants in Russia and Zaporizhia in Ukraine, which are threatened by fighting and shelling.
“Times remain very difficult,” Grossi said during a meeting with the head of Russia’s Rosatom atomic energy agency, Alexei Likhachev, in Kaliningrad, Russia.
He spoke of a worrying situation at the Kursk nuclear power plant, which is located in Russian territory where Ukrainian forces launched a surprise cross-border attack in early August.
Grossi went to the site in late August to assess the situation, as the fighting is taking place about 50 km away. He had pointed out that the two reactors currently operating in the area are without special protection.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in August that Ukrainian forces had tried to hit these facilities.
The head of the IAEA also recalled today the fire in a cooling tower of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which Russian forces have seized in southern Ukraine.
Moscow has blamed a Ukrainian drone strike – which Kiev denies – for the fire at the site of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which has at times been the target of strikes for which Russia and Ukraine have systematically blamed. one to the other.
The situation at these two stations “clearly shows that we cannot relax our attention when it comes to the issue of guaranteeing nuclear safety,” Grossi said.
“Nuclear power plants can never be a legitimate target in an armed conflict,” the head of the IAEA underlined.
The head of Rosatom, Alexei Likhachev, assured him that the Kursk station was “functioning normally” and said it had been agreed that IAEA experts would be able to go “immediately” to these facilities in case of “additional risks or threats”.
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