SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
UN nuclear agency head to visit Russia's Kursk plant next week
Vienna, Aug 22 (AFP) Aug 22, 2024
UN nuclear agency head Rafael Grossi is planning to visit Russia's Kursk nuclear power plant next week, an agency spokesperson said Thursday, weeks after Ukraine launched a surprise counteroffensive in the region.

"We can confirm (it's planned for) next week," a spokesperson for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said, without giving further details.

The UN nuclear agency on August 9 urged Russia and Ukraine to exercise "maximum restraint" to "avoid a nuclear accident with the potential for serious radiological consequences" as fighting approached the power plant.

Grossi had said he was "personally in contact with the relevant authorities of both countries" and would "continue to update the international community as appropriate".

The power plant has six units -- two are in shutdown, two are fully operational and two are under construction, according to the IAEA.

Two and a half years into the war, Ukraine mounted an unprecedented cross-border assault on August 6, catching Russia off guard and even surprising its close allies.

Kyiv claims to have captured dozens of settlements and tens of thousands of Russian civilians have fled.

The IAEA regularly warns of the risk Russia's invasion of Ukraine since February 2022 poses to nuclear plants.

On Saturday, it warned that the safety situation at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was "deteriorating" following a nearby drone strike.

The plant, which was seized by Russia's forces early in the war, has come under repeated attacks that both sides have accused each other of carrying out.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Maven stays silent after routine pass behind Mars
ICE-CSIC leads a pioneering study on the feasibility of asteroid mining
NASA JPL Unveils Rover Operations Center for Moon, Mars Missions

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Thorium plated steel points to smaller nuclear clocks
Solar ghost particles seen flipping carbon atoms in underground detector
Overview Energy debuts airborne power beaming milestone for space based solar power

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Autonomous DARPA project to expand satellite surveillance network by BAE Systems
IAEA calls for repair work on Chernobyl sarcophagus
Momentus joins US Space Force SHIELD contract vehicle

24/7 News Coverage
UAlbany Atmospheric Scientist Proposes Innovative Method to Reduce Aviation's Climate Impact
Digital twin successfully launched and deployed into space
Robots that spare warehouse workers the heavy lifting



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.