IAEA does not plan permanent mission at Kursk Nuclear Power Plant and hopes to avoid returning there – Reuters

Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has stated that the situation around the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) remains serious, but his agency does not plan to establish a permanent mission there. He expressed hope that there will be no need to return to the plant.

Source: Reuters

Quote: "(The situation) is serious in that a military incursion has taken place and that incursion has reached the stage that it is not that distant from a nuclear power station," Grossi told Kremlin-aligned news agency RIA Novosti.

Last month, Grossi visited the Kursk NPP and stated that the station would be "extremely vulnerable" in the event of an attack, as it lacks a protective dome. 

In a comment for RIA Novosti made in New York before the debates at the UN General Assembly, Grossi expressed hope that favourable circumstances would prevent him from visiting the station again.

Quote: "I hope there will be no need to return to the Kursk station as that would mean that the situation has stabilised," he said.

Grossi also noted that the IAEA does not plan to permanently station observers at the facility, as has been done at four Ukrainian nuclear power plants, including the Zaporizhzhia plant, which was seized by Russian forces at the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. 

Grossi reported that the situation remains tense at the Zaporizhzhia NPP, where both sides regularly accuse each other of plans to attack the facility. 

Quote: "My experts continue to report on military action near the station," he said.

Background: Earlier, Grossi stated that there is a "threat of nuclear incident" in Kursk Oblast, and the fighting near the Kursk NPP is a cause for concern.

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