Inspectors with a United Nations nuclear monitoring agency found several mines around the Zaporizhizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, which is under Russian control.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi said his team saw “some mines” in a buffer zone between the site’s internal and external perimeter barriers and at other spots inside the site perimeter of the power plant.
Grossi said the mines were placed in restricted areas inaccessible to the IAEA inspectors, who are tasked with keeping the nuclear plant in southeastern Ukraine safe during the war.
The agency head said “the IAEA’s initial assessment based on its own observations and the plant’s clarifications is that any detonation of these mines should not affect the site’s nuclear safety and security systems.”
Still, Grossi added in a statement that the existence of the explosives at the site are “inconsistent with the IAEA safety standards and nuclear security guidance and creates additional psychological pressure on plant staff.”
“The IAEA has been aware of the previous placement of mines outside the site perimeter and also at particular places inside,” Grossi said. “Our team has raised this specific finding with the plant and they have been told that it is a military decision, and in an area controlled by military.”
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Inspectors with a UN nuclear monitoring agency found several mines around the Zaporizhizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, which is under Russian control. https://t.co/Mbz31WhZX0
— The Hill (@thehill) July 25, 2023
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