The International Atomic Energy Agency says it has found anti-personnel mines at the site of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine and has complained to its operators.
The mines were found in a buffer zone between the plant’s external and internal perimeter barriers. Although the directional mines were facing away from the plant and were situated in a restricted area that plant staff cannot reach, having the explosives on site at all is in violation of IAEA safety standards, per the IAEA.
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This is the second consecutive month that the IAEA has complained to the plant’s occupiers about the presence of mines at the facility.
IAEA director-general Rafael Mariano Grossi stated: “As I have reported earlier, the IAEA has been aware of the previous placement of mines outside the site perimeter and also at particular places inside.”
The update from the IAEA said that the placement of the mines can place psychological pressure on plant staff.
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“Our team has raised this specific finding with the plant and they have been told that it is a military decision, and in an area controlled by military,” Grossi added. Grossi stated that although both the IAEA and plant staff assessed that any detonation of the mines would not affect the plant’s safety and security, it was still incompatible with nuclear security guidance.
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By GlobalDataThe IAEA statement added that no other military equipment beyond the mines was found on the site.
The plant has been under the control of the Russian military since it invaded Ukraine in 2022. Since then, it has been the subject of constant fears over its safety, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warning of a potential attack against the plant in June.
Although there has not yet been an attack, the situation at Zaporizhzhia is still delicate. The IAEA revealed that over the weekend the nuclear plant temporarily lost connection to mains power. The 750kV power line is essential to keeping the power on at the plant; however, for a period of almost eight hours it had to rely on 330kV of backup power.
None of the plant’s six reactors have been producing power; however, the plant still requires power, as safety functions and plant cooling must still take place regardless. As such, the plant is still staffed, showing the danger of having mines located there in any capacity.
