IAEA chief says there is no need for a permanent mission at Kursk NPP

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi stated that the situation around the Kursk nuclear power plant (NPP) «remains serious.» However, the agency has no plans to deploy a permanent mission to the site.

This was reported by Reuters.

«The situation is serious because a military offensive has occurred, and it has reached a point where it is no longer far from the nuclear power plant», — Grossi said.

It was noted that Ukrainian troops are positioned in the southern part of the Kursk region. They are approximately 40 km away from the plant.

Grossi visited the Kursk nuclear power plant last month. He remarked that it would be «extremely vulnerable» in the event of an attack. Grossi noted that the facility lacks a protective dome.

According to Grossi, the agency does not plan to station permanent observers at the plant, as has been done at four Ukrainian plants, including the Zaporizhzhia NPP, which was occupied by Russian forces in the early days of the invasion in February 2022.

The IAEA chief also highlighted that the situation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP remains tense.

«Our experts continue to report military activities near the plant», — he stated.

As a reminder, since 6 August, when Ukraine launched an offensive in the Kursk region, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have taken control of 100 settlements in the Russian region. This was reported by the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi. He also mentioned that Russian troops had deployed approximately 30,000 soldiers to the Kursk region to push back the Ukrainian Defense Forces, and this number is increasing.