Ukraine Wants to Seize Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, Rosatom Warns
Russian nuclear power plant in the Kursk region, 2024. Photo: X/ @HabamenshiM
September 6, 2024 Hour: 11:10 am
If this plant were to be targeted by a Ukrainian attack, Chernobyl would seem like child’s play, Likhachov said.
On Friday, Alexei Likhachov, head of the Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom), accused Ukraine of planning to seize control of the Kursk nuclear power plant.
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“There is no doubt that Kyiv was planning to attack and take over the Kursk plant,” he said at a press conference in Kaliningrad, where he was present with Rafael Grossi, the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Likhachov emphasized that Ukraine would have achieved its goal if not for the timely intervention of Russian soldiers, the National Guard, and the plant’s security.
At the time, some international analysts claimed that taking control of the plant was one of Kyiv’s objectives, intending to use it as a bargaining chip to regain control of the Zaporizhzhia plant. Likhachov also warned that if the Kursk nuclear plant were to be targeted by a Ukrainian attack, “Chernobyl – the site of the worst nuclear catastrophe in history – would seem like child’s play.”
The Rosatom official denounced threats against Russian nuclear power plants and their operators, calling on the IAEA to assess the situation objectively. “This simply shows that Kyiv is not calming down, as they continue to launch attacks on infrastructure, nuclear plants, and personnel,” he added.
According to Grossi, however, all parties are “committed” to dialogue on the nuclear issue, adding that the mere presence of the IAEA is an “asset” for Moscow, Kyiv, and the international community. He stressed that the IAEA is a technical and impartial communication channel that proposes measures to minimize risks at nuclear plants.
At the end of August, during his first inspection of the Kursk plant, the IAEA director raised concerns about the severity of the plant being “so close” to a war front.
He also mentioned that, like Chernobyl, Kursk does not have “the defense and containment structures of more modern plants” and that “the reactor core is protected by a standard roof,” making it “fragile” and “extremely exposed” to a potential attack.
teleSUR/JF Source: EFE
