Ukraine and the International Atomic Energy Agency confirm: mines near the Zaporizhia plant – past hour

Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency have observed guided landmines on the outskirts of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant site in Ukraine. This was stated yesterday evening by the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi.


He explained in a statement that during a patrol on July 23, the IAEA team saw some mines located in a buffer zone between the site’s internal and external barriers. Experts said they were in front of the site, in a restricted area that plant operations personnel could not access. “As I mentioned earlier, the IAEA was aware that mines were previously laid outside the perimeter of the site and also at certain points inside. Our team brought up this specific finding and was told it was a military decision and in an area controlled by the military,” Grossi said. “But the presence of such explosives at the site contravenes the IAEA’s safety standards and nuclear safety guidelines and creates additional psychological stress on the plant’s staff, although the IAEA’s initial assessment based on its own observations and the plant’s explanations is that any detonations of these mines should not affect the nuclear safety and security systems at the site,” he added.

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