Photo: Collected
UN nuclear watchdog head Rafael Grossi is to visit Russia's Kursk nuclear plant on Tuesday to "independently assess" events following Ukraine's unprecedented cross-border offensive into the Russian region.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly warned of the dangers of fighting around nuclear plants following Russia's full-scale military offensive into Ukraine in February 2022.
In the first days of the conflict, Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine, and also briefly held the decommissioned Chernobyl plant in the north.
Ukraine launched its surprise incursion into Kursk on August 6. It has said it is making advances, even as Russian forces move deeper into eastern Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin last week accused Ukraine of trying to attack the Kursk nuclear power plant, which is less than 50 kilometres (30 miles) from fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces.
The IAEA confirmed that it had been told by Russian authorities that drone fragments were found last Thursday roughly 100 metres from the Kursk plant's spent fuel nuclear storage facility.
Messenger/Disha
