The nuclear power plant in Kursk, Russia, within range of Ukrainian guns
It’s about the protection of the Kursk nuclear power plant (NPP). According to Russian news agencies, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov on Tuesday opened a meeting of the Military Security Coordination Council of the Border Region. Tass It was reported that he discussed protective measures for the NPP with the heads of the Belgorod, Kursk and Bryansk regions.
This is essential. Russian Ambassador to the UN Mikhail Ulyanov recently said that since the invasion of Ukraine, fighting has moved up to 25 km from nuclear facilities. jW– Dialogue. Ulyanov also said that the Russian-controlled nuclear power plants in Kursk and Zaporizhzhia are subject to regular Ukrainian fires. The Russian military has so far managed to prevent the impact on the reactors. However, if one of the facilities is hit by a rocket, “it could lead to a nuclear disaster like Chernobyl.” This would have unpredictable and “catastrophic consequences” for Europe, he added.
Since February 2022, the issue of nuclear safety in Ukraine has been a constant topic of discussion for the United Nations Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna. The organization also sees the threat of war.
At a press conference of the IAEA’s governing body, the Board of Governors, in Vienna last week, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi reported that 23 serious incidents had so far occurred in Zaporizhia, which IAEA inspectors had registered and documented. He sees the war as a threat to nuclear security in Europe. “Of course, we can show Ukraine a red card and Russia a yellow card,” he said in response to a reporter’s question.
The main agenda item of the 68th IAEA General Conference currently being held in Vienna is Ukraine. Grossi said the situation has worsened due to the escalation of fighting in Kursk and that the IAEA is monitoring further developments. The risk of a nuclear catastrophe in the Ukrainian-Russian conflict zone has overshadowed the debate over Iran’s nuclear program.
In his opening speech Monday morning to thousands of delegates from all IAEA member states, all observer states including Palestine, and all non-governmental organizations such as Interpol, Grossi detailed the situation in Ukraine. He reported that he had visited Ukraine for the tenth time in early September and had spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “on strengthening the country’s nuclear security.”
For the IAEA, this means – Grossi: “Our support has expanded and adapted. For example, we are taking a more active approach to monitoring Ukrainian substations that are critical to the safety of nuclear power plants. The IAEA has been actively involved in Ukrainian nuclear facilities since 2022. So far, 140 missions have been carried out. »The agency’s experts are deployed to the Chernobyl site and operating nuclear power plants, as well as to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, ZNPP, which is in a cold shutdown state on the front lines of war. In Rivne, Ukraine, in Khmelnytskyi and in southern Ukraine, ”Grossi explained.
The situation at the ZNPP is unstable. At the Russian-controlled power plant, there are “regular explosions, drone attacks, shootings, repeated external power outages.” “Other problems increase the risk of a nuclear accident,” the statement said, at least indirectly pointing to Ukraine as an aggressor. During his speech, Grossi sent a clear warning to Kiev: “Any form of aggression, including at nuclear facilities, is completely unacceptable.”
Finally, he thanked the 30 donor countries and the European Union for “contributing additional funds to support all activities related to Ukraine,” but stressed that the IAEA would continue to provide €23 million to continue its mission to protect nuclear facilities. There would be no Ukraine in that country.
On the same day, Russia warned the IAEA that Kiev could use IAEA staff as human shields to sabotage Ukrainian energy facilities, Ambassador Ulyanov said. Tass. That is why the 68th IAEA meeting was attended by a meeting between the Director General of the Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom), Alexei Likhachev and Grossi. The Russian Embassy in Vienna announced that ensuring the safety of nuclear facilities is a top priority. It was also announced that Russia and the IAEA Secretariat will continue to cooperate on nuclear safety issues despite their “accented differences of position.”
And finally, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned in his welcoming address to the UN chief at Vienna, Gaddafi Wali: “As long as the war continues in Ukraine, the danger of nuclear weapons will continue. An accident is a daily possibility. « According to the IAEA, Kiev is consciously taking a risk.
