The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi arrived today at the Kursk nuclear power plant, France Press reported, quoted by BTA.
The purpose of Grossi's visit to the plant, which is located in Russia's Kursk region, is to make an independent assessment of the situation at the nuclear power plant after Ukrainian forces entered Kursk region.
Since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the IAEA has repeatedly warned of the risks of conducting hostilities near nuclear power plants.
Representative of the Russian state corporation for nuclear energy "Rosatom" told AFP that Grossi has arrived at the Kursk NPP and is personally leading the mission that will assess the situation on the ground.
In the first days after the invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces seized the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine and for a time held the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine under control.
Ukraine launched a surprise invasion of Kursk Oblast earlier this month.
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of trying to attack the Kursk nuclear power plant, which is less than 50 km from the fighting zone between Russian and Ukrainian forces.
The IAEA has confirmed that Russian authorities notified it of drone debris found last week about 100 meters from the main nuclear fuel storage facility at the Kursk nuclear power plant.
Yesterday Grossi said that he “will independently assess what is happening” at headquarters “given the serious situation“.
The plant is located about 60 km from the Russian-Ukrainian border and about 50 km from the city of Kursk, which has a population of about 440 thousand people.