IAEA head Rafael Grossi says Kursk nuclear plant’s proximity to the preventing is ‘extraordinarily critical’.
A nuclear plant positioned in western Russia the place fighting is raging between Russian and Ukrainian forces is weak to a critical accident as a result of it lacks a protecting dome that would protect it from missiles, drones and artillery, the pinnacle of the United Nations nuclear watchdog says.
Rafael Grossi, director normal on the Worldwide Atomic Power Company (IAEA), on Tuesday visited the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant exterior the city of Kurchatov in Russia’s Kursk area, the place Ukrainian forces broke throughout the border three weeks in the past and Russia is battling to eject them.
“The hazard or risk of a nuclear accident has emerged close to right here,” Grossi informed reporters.
Grossi mentioned the RBMK-type facility – the identical mannequin because the Chornobyl plant in Ukraine, which witnessed the world’s worst civilian nuclear catastrophe in 1986 – lacks the containment dome and protecting construction that’s typical of contemporary nuclear energy crops.
“Which means that the core of the reactor containing nuclear materials is protected simply by a standard roof. This makes it extraordinarily uncovered and fragile, for instance, to an artillery affect or a drone or a missile,” he mentioned.
“So because of this we consider {that a} nuclear energy plant of this sort so shut to some extent of contact or a navy entrance is an especially critical proven fact that we take very critically.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine last week of attempting to assault the Kursk plant. Ukraine has but to answer the accusations that it attacked the ability.
“I used to be knowledgeable concerning the affect of drones. I used to be proven a number of the remnants of these and indicators of the affect they’d,” Grossi mentioned with out saying who was accountable.
Grossi mentioned the aim of his go to was to attract the world’s consideration to the scenario and to say: “Principally, by no means, ever should or ought to a nuclear energy plant be attacked in any manner.”
The IAEA has repeatedly warned of the hazards of preventing round nuclear crops since Russia’s full-scale navy offensive in Ukraine started in February 2022.
‘A harmful scenario’
Defence analyst Pavel Felgenhauer informed Al Jazeera the continued assaults close to the Kursk nuclear plant might change the course of the conflict.
“The entrance traces proper now are … far off, tens of kilometres from the Kursk Nuclear Energy Plant. It doesn’t appear that the Ukrainians are attempting to succeed in it or assault it, however after all, … it’s a harmful scenario,” he mentioned.
“The scenario within the northern entrance in Kursk, in [the neighbouring region of] Belgorod just isn’t absolutely in Russia’s favour. The Ukrainians have the initiative there. Russia has the initiative within the south [of Ukraine] in Donbas, so either side are going for one another,” he mentioned.
“There may be nonetheless a risk that the Ukrainians could attempt to increase their Kursk bridgehead and go along with forces into Belgorod over the border.”
Al Jazeera’s Alex Gatopoulos, reporting from Kyiv, mentioned the Russians know they must seize Pokrovsk within the Donbas area as a result of it’s the “absolute prize” in Donetsk Oblast, a part of which pro-Moscow separatists have managed since 2014.
“Whoever controls it, controls Donetsk itself. It’s a provide route, it’s a logistics hub, it’s a rail hub and it’s important for each Russians to take it and for Ukraine to defend it,” he mentioned.
“Russians are bringing reinforcements to bolster this advance as a result of there’s a restricted time that advances, offensives can go on.”