IAEA: Report of missile over nuclear power plant ‘very serious’
The United Nations IAEA nuclear watchdog is investigating whether a missile flew directly over a nuclear power plant, as Ukraine claims. If this is indeed the case, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said it would be a “very serious” incident.
On Thursday, the nuclear watchdog said that Ukraine had officially reported that on April 16 a missile flew over the Yuzhnoukrainsk nuclear power plant, in the south of the country. “Had such a missile landed, it could have had a serious impact on the nuclear power plant,” Grossi said, adding that it “could have led to a nuclear accident.”
The IAEA chief said nothing about who fired the missile. Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russia of being careless with Ukrainian nuclear power plants. Grossi visited the country this week to assess the situation on the ground.
