The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi, said on Friday (1) that he will lead a mission to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine.
“I will lead an IAEA assistance and support mission to the Chernobyl nuclear power as soon as possible. It will be the first in a series of nuclear security and protection missions to Ukraine,” Grossi said on Twitter.
Grossi said the IAEA has a framework agreed with Ukraine and Russia to help secure and protect Ukraine’s nuclear plants.
Grossi told reporters in Vienna that the IAEA had delivered some equipment to Ukraine and discussed sending personnel to help Ukrainian authorities.
“We agreed to have a rapid assistance mechanism” should a situation arise, Grossi said. “We are putting together a mechanism whereby we could send a team to assess and help almost immediately.”
Chernobyl was under the control of Russian troops shortly after the start of the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, but plant personnel continued to work at the site and ensure the safe storage of nuclear fuels and supervise the concrete ruins of the reactor that exploded in 1986, causing the worst nuclear accident in history.
On Thursday (31), the country’s state energy company announced that Russian troops had left the site out of concern about radiation.
The Russian interest was justified because the plant is located about 15 kilometers from the border between Ukraine and Belarus, where one of the many advances on Ukraine by Russian troops comes from. It is also about 100 kilometers north of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.
Source: CNN Brasil
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