Nuclear reactor attack unlikely in Russia-Ukraine conflict, says IAEA chief

The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, told CNN that the attack on a nuclear reactor “is not a likely scenario” and “nuclear facilities were not targeted”.

Starting next week, the IAEA will begin helping Ukraine preserve the safety of nuclear facilities, including Chernobyl, Grossi said.

Returning from a trip to Ukraine and Russia, where he visited the nuclear reactors closest to the war zone, Grossi said operations were continuing “satisfactorily”.

The director-general said that there was an occurrence in sight of a nuclear reactor, which was “quite worrying”, adding that it was an exchange of fire, probably a bombing, that hit an administrative building.

“Any attack on a nuclear facility is against international law. I think everyone, including Russia, is very aware of this. And to trust or not to trust is something that is, of course, objective. We will do everything possible to prevent such an occurrence,” she added.

On reports of Russian troops exposed to radiation at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Grossi said the agency had reached out to its Russian counterparts for more information.

“In general terms, I would say the radiation levels around the Chernobyl site are low. In the beginning, when Russian troops occupied the site, because of the movement of oncoming heavy armored vehicles, in some areas the ground movement released some radiation and there was a slight increase in levels,” he said.

“Probably the same thing happened when the same or similar vehicles were leaving, there was dust in the air that contained some radiation that was on the ground,” he added.