IAEA Director General plans to visit Kursk Nuclear Power Plant

Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, plans to visit the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Russia next week.

Source: Financial Times

Details: During his interview with Financial Times, Rafael Grossi announced his intention to visit the Kursk NPP next week at the invitation of the Russian authorities. 

Grossi intends to talk to the plant's managers and assess the condition of the external power supply and access roads. He noted that, as a result of the Ukrainian army's advance deeper into Russia, the NPP is now within artillery striking distance of the Ukrainian army.

The IAEA Director General notes that the distance between the plant and the hostilities is of "particular concern" as the plant has two RBMK reactors, similar to the ones that had been used at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

Quote from Rafael Grossi: "I've visited a few of these stations. You can walk around and see the fuel cells going down as if it were a gym or something like that." 

Background:

• On 16 August, Russia accused Ukraine of preparing an attack on the Kursk NPP, and the Russian Ministry of Defence threatened that "tough military and military-technical measures will be taken immediately."
• Ukraine denied the accusations. "Ukraine has no intention or ability to take any such actions. Russia must stop spreading dangerous lies," said Heorhii Tykhyi, the spokesman for Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry.
• The Kursk NPP is located 40 kilometres west of the city of Kursk, which has a population of 500,000. It has two operating reactors, two decommissioned reactors, and two partially built reactors.

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