The head of the IAEA plans to visit the Kursk nuclear power plant

Kursk NPP. Photo: Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense

The head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Raphael Grossi, plans to visit the nuclear power plant in Kursk.

This is reported by the Financial Times.

He noted that he will visit Kursk next week to talk with its leadership. He also wants to assess the condition of the external power supply and access roads to the station.

The station operates two RVPK reactors similar to those used at the Chornobyl NPP. Rafael Grossi is concerned that the nuclear power plant is close to hostilities between Russian and Ukrainian forces. According to him, this is of «particular concern» because of the presence of two fully operational reactors.

At the same time, the publication indicates that Ukrainian officials and command have not given any indication that the object is a target or that its capture is the goal of their offensive.

It was previously reported that the situation with nuclear safety at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is deteriorating due to the impact of a drone that hit the road near the territory of the nuclear power plant.

Operation in the Kursk region

The Russian side claims that on August 6, the Ukrainian military tried to break through the border and gain a foothold in the Sudzhanskyi and Korenevskyi districts of the Kursk region.

On August 12, the governor of the region, Oleksii Smirnov, reported to the leader of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, that 28 settlements in the Kursk region «are under the control of the enemy.»

On the evening of August 12, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the operation in the Kursk region. According to him, this was necessary to ensure the security of the border areas from the Russian military.

The spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Heorhii Tyhyi, said that Ukraine is not interested in taking the territories of the Kursk region of Russia. Currently, Ukraine is protecting its citizens, who are being fired upon by the Russian military from the territory of this region.

We will remind that in the Kursk region, on August 14, special forces of the Security Service of Ukraine captured 102 soldiers of the 488th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment of the Armed Forces of Russia and the special unit «Akhmat». It is noted that this is the largest capture of the enemy, which was carried out at one time.

Also, according to local media reports, six Russian soldiers were captured by the Armed Forces, and the Russian Telegram channel «VChK-OGPU» claims that the Chechen special forces «Akhmat» stationed on the border have left their positions, and 15 soldiers were injured.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi reported that as of August 14, the Defense Forces of Ukraine destroyed the enemy in the city of Sudzha, Kursk Region of the Russian Federation. More than 100 Russian soldiers have been taken prisoner, the defense operation continues.

On August 15, representatives of Ukraine and the Russian Federation begin negotiations on the exchange of prisoners of war in the Kursk region.

As of August 20, the Armed Forces of Ukraine maintain control over more than 1,260 square kilometers of territory and 93 settlements in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation.

On August 22, the Minister of Defense Rustem Umierov announced the purpose of the operation, which the Armed Forces of Ukraine are conducting in the Kursk region. The goal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during operations on the territory of Russia in the border areas is, in particular, to reduce the enemy's ability to attack populated areas of Ukraine.