UN nuclear agency head to visit Russia's Kursk plant next week

UN nuclear agency head Rafael Grossi is planning to visit Russia's Kursk nuclear power plant next week, an agency spokesperson said Thursday, weeks after Ukraine launched a surprise counteroffensive in the region.

"We can confirm (it's planned for) next week," a spokesperson for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said, without giving further details.

The UN nuclear agency on August 9 urged Russia and Ukraine to exercise "maximum restraint" to "avoid a nuclear accident with the potential for serious radiological consequences" as fighting approached the power plant.


Grossi had said he was "personally in contact with the relevant authorities of both countries" and would "continue to update the international community as appropriate".

The power plant has six units -- two are in shutdown, two are fully operational and two are under construction, according to the IAEA.

Two and a half years into the war, Ukraine mounted an unprecedented cross-border assault on August 6, catching Russia off guard and even surprising its close allies.

Kyiv claims to have captured dozens of settlements and tens of thousands of Russian civilians have fled.

The IAEA regularly warns of the risk Russia's invasion of Ukraine since February 2022 poses to nuclear plants.

On Saturday, it warned that the safety situation at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was "deteriorating" following a nearby drone strike.

The plant, which was seized by Russia's forces early in the war, has come under repeated attacks that both sides have accused each other of carrying out.