Alexei Likhachev, head of Russia’s atomic energy agency ROSATOM, says the Ukrainian attack in Kursk Oblast threatens the safety of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant. Likhachev would discuss the matter with Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
As Reuters reports, citing Russia’s RIA, Likhachev conveyed his concerns to Grossi in a telephone conversation, saying that the Ukrainian invasion “created a direct threat not only to the Kursk nuclear power plant, but to ‘the entire international atomic energy system.'”
On Saturday, ROSATOM issued a statement saying that Kursk is operating normally, but the number of people working on the construction of new power units at the plant has been limited due to with the introduction of a federal state of emergency in the region on Friday.
Russian website Vazhnye Istorii reported on Friday that the blocks under construction had been disconnected from the grid and workers had abandoned the site. The website added that construction workers had been leaving the area since Wednesday.
They have been appearing since Tuesday reports on the Ukrainian armed forceswhich crossed the border into Russia and launched a large-scale operation in the Kursk Oblast. The Ukrainians have occupied several cities and have a vast area under their control (probably about 350 km2). Kiev is very sparing in its comments on the events in the border region. Russia, on the other hand, is sending forces to the region to repel the invasion. However, some Russian military columns were “intercepted” by the Ukrainians.
On August 8, photographs of the Ukrainian outpost also circulated on the Internet, which reached one of the cities located just 15 km from the Kurchativ Nuclear Power Plant – one of the three largest facilities of its kind in Russia.
