The head of the UN nuclear agency warned today of the risk of a major nuclear accident at a Russian nuclear power plant due to fighting nearby between Russian and Ukrainian forces.
Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), made the remarks after visiting the station in Russia’s western Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces crossed the border three weeks ago and Russia is fighting to drive them out. .
“The danger or possibility of a nuclear accident has appeared nearby,” Grossi told reporters.
“We see that the station is still operating, but at the same time the fact that the station is operating can become even more serious in terms of some action against it,” he said.
“When a station is operating, the temperature is much higher, and if there is the case of an impact or something that could affect it, there would be serious consequences.”
Ukrainian attack
President Vladimir Putin last week accused Ukraine of trying to attack the Kursk plant, which has four Soviet RBMK-1000 reactors of the same design as those at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which in 1986 was the site of the country’s worst civilian nuclear disaster.
Ukraine has yet to respond to accusations that it attacked the station.
“I was informed about the impact of drones. They showed me remnants of them and signs of the impact they had,” Grossi said, without saying who was responsible.
Grossi said the type of RBMK reactor plant lacks the containment dome and containment structure that characterize most modern nuclear power plants.
“This means that the reactor core containing nuclear material is only protected by a normal roof. This makes him extremely exposed and vulnerable to, for example, an artillery or drone or missile impact,” he said.
“This is why we believe that a nuclear power plant of this kind, so close to a contact point or military front, is an extremely serious event that we take very seriously.”
Grossi said it would be an exaggeration to equate Kursk with Chernobyl, where an accident caused an explosion that sent a radioactive plume over parts of eastern Europe.
“But it is the same type of reactor and there is no special protection. And this is very, very important. If there is an impact to the core, the material is there and the consequences could be extremely severe.”
Grossi said the purpose of his visit was to draw the international community’s attention to the situation and to say: “Fundamentally never, ever, a power station should or should not be attacked in any way.”
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