UN official: Russian nuclear power plant in Ukraine war ‘at risk’ of incident

There is currently a “risk” of a nuclear incident at a Russian nuclear power plant amid ongoing fighting with Ukraine, a United Nations official said this week.

On Tuesday, the head of the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, visited a nuclear power plant in the Kursk region of Russia and said there was “now a risk of a nuclear incident”.

“Today I was informed of several cases of drone attacks on the territory and facilities of the plant. I saw traces of these attacks in the plant,” he said.

Grossi made similar comments in a post on X (formerly Twitter), where he wrote that the “situation” at the Kursk facility was “serious.”

“Preventing a nuclear accident in this terrible war is crucial and attacking any nuclear power plant [nuclear power plant] is unacceptable no matter the location,” Grossi wrote. “@IAEAorg will continue to advocate for nuclear safety & security everywhere.”

Earlier this month, Ukraine launched a surprise offensive in Russia's Kursk Oblast as war between the two countries continues to rage since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Thousands of Russians have been evacuated from Kursk and surrounding regions, while armed clashes intensify across southwest Russia following Ukraine's unexpected cross-border incursion.

Russia launched an airstrike on Ukraine on Tuesday, firing dozens of missiles, a day after a massive nighttime attack that Kiev authorities described as one of the largest airstrikes of the war.

The head of the Ukrainian army said that Kursk was the starting point of some Russian attacks this week after Ukrainian troops captured nearly 1,300 square kilometers of the region. General Oleksandr Syrskyi announced that Ukraine had taken 594 Russian prisoners as part of its current offensive. He said this was to distract the Russian military from the main fighting in Ukraine. His claims about captured Russians have not been independently verified. Newsweek.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that Ukraine had suffered significant losses in Kursk. Around 6,600 soldiers were killed or injured and over 70 tanks and numerous armored vehicles were destroyed. Newsweek has not independently verified these figures.

Regarding the recent spate of Russian attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated his desire to further intensify attacks inside Russia, but added that his allies did not agree with such an approach.

“(The allies) try not to talk to me about it. But I keep bringing up this issue. In general, that's it. The Olympics are over, but the ping-pong continues,” he said.

Earlier this month, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned that the Ukrainian offensive in Kursk had ended “any possibility” of peace talks between the two countries.

“Who will negotiate with them after all this, after the atrocities, the terror they are committing against peaceful residents, the civilian population, civilian infrastructure and peaceful facilities,” Zakharova said.

This article contains reporting from The Associated Press.