Russia claims Ukrainian incursion threatens nuclear plant

Russia's nuclear agency Rosatom on Saturday said Ukraine's shock cross-border attack posed a "direct threat" to a nuclear power plant located less than 50 kilometres from the combat zone.

Alexei Likhachev, the CEO of the Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation.

Photo: EPA/SERGEI ILNITSKY; PAP/EPA.

"At the moment there is a real danger of strikes and provocations by the Ukrainian army”, Rosatom was cited as saying by the Reuters news agency.

Following Ukraine's incursion into the region, Rosatom discussed the situation at the facility with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Russian state news agency RIA reported on Saturday.

In a phone call with IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev said the Ukrainian incursion had "created a direct threat not only to the Kursk nuclear power plant but to the entire international nuclear energy industry."

Rosatom also said the facility is operating normally.

However, the agency stated it had decided to reduce the number of workers at a construction site for a new nuclear plant in the Kursk region due to the federal state of emergency there.

Russia has imposed a sweeping security regime in three border regions as it scrambles forces to counter Ukraine's biggest attack on Russian sovereign territory since the start of the war in 2022.

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Source: Reuters