According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi will visit the Kursk nuclear plant. The visit comes as a response to the invitation of Alexey Likhachev, the head of the Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, who warned Director General Grossi that both the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine and the Kursk reactors in Russia were at risk from Ukraine.(1)
Greenpeace Central and Eastern Europe finds the planned visit highly controversial.
The environmental organisation reminds of an earlier position of the IAEA on the 8th of August that stated, “At this point there is no reason for concern with regard to nuclear safety and security.”(2). Less than 12 hours later and after a phone call from Rosatom chief Likhachev,(3) the IAEA Director issued a warning of the significant military activity near the Kursk nuclear plant and that he would be prepared to visit the site.(4)
“We find the planned visit a major mistake by the IAEA Director General that should be cancelled. We have all the reasons to believe that it only serves Russia’s interest and it will encourage Russia to continue its false flag operations at Zaporizhzhya and Kursk nuclear power plants with potentially catastrophic consequences,” said Shaun Burnie, senior nuclear specialist with Greenpeace Central and Eastern Europe.
Greenpeace warns that Grossi’s planned visit to Kursk distracts attention away from the real and only threat to nuclear safety and security: Russia’s illegal occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, and Russia’s deception and false flag operation tactics around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and now Kursk nuclear power plant.
Analysis commissioned by Greenpeace in April 2024 showed that the Russian claims of multiple Ukraine drone attacks against the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant were likely to be deceptions. Report authors Mckenzie Intelligence Services in London concluded that it would benefit Russia to demonstrate Ukrainian irresponsibility with regards to nuclear safety and to put pressure on the international community to sanction Ukraine for such behaviour and that the April drone strike “could be a false flag operation”.(5)
1 – TASS, Rosatom CEO Warns IAEA of Threats to Two Nuclear Power Plants, 17 August 2024, see https://www.rbc.ru/politics/17/08/2024/66c095729a7947c3b0e3c48f?from=article_body
2 – TASS, IAEA does not see threats to Kursk power plant nuclear safety, 9 August 2024, see https://tass.com/world/1826919
3 – Rosatom, A telephone conversation took place between ROSATOM General Director Alexei Likhachev and IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi on 10 August, 2024, see https://www.rosatom.ru/en/press-centre/news/a-telephone-conversation-took-place-between-rosatom-general-director-alexei-likhachev-and-iaea-direc/
4 – IAEA, IAEA Director General Statement on Developments in the Russian Federation, 9 August 2024, see https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/statements/iaea-director-general-statement-on-developments-in-the-russian-federation
5 – Greenpeace Ukraine, McKenzie Intelligence analysis published on Russian claims of drone attacks on ZNPP offers strong indications of staged false flag operation by Russia, 12 April 2024, see https://www.greenreconstruction.com/news/mckenzie-intelligence-analysis-published-on-russian-claims-of-drone-attacks-on-znpp-offers-strong-indications-of-staged-false-flag-operation-by-russia
