Nuclear disaster warning for two countries as Putin orders urgent mass evacuation
Ukrainian forces have made a surprise incursion into Russian territory sparking fears fighting could develop around the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant.
The head of the international atomic monitoring body has issued a stark warning to Russia and Ukraine to avoid fighting getting close to huge nuclear power plant.
Rafael Grossi, the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), urged both militaries to "exercise maximum restraint" if combat erupts near the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant.
In a bold move Ukraine has stunned President Putin and the Kremlin with a military incursion on Tuesday into the Russian provinces of Kursk, and most recently the neighbouring Belgorod region.
A humiliated Vladimir Putin has now been forced to issue a massive evacuation order for more than 76,000 civilians from the Kursk region. The measures, which also apply to the neighbouring Belgorod and Bryansk provinces that border Ukraine, allow the government to relocate residents, control phone communications and requisition vehicles.
The Russian Defence Ministry said today (Saturday) that fighting was continuing in the Kursk and that the army has conducted airstrikes against Ukrainian forces.
In an urgent statement issued last night, IAEA boss Rafael Grossi said: "The IAEA has been monitoring the situation on the reported military activities taking place in the vicinity of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant.
"In view of the reportedly significant military activity, I wish to remind all parties of the seven indispensable pillars for ensuring nuclear safety and security during an armed conflict."
Mr Grossi urged Russia and Ukraine to respect principles adhered to so far in the conflict which have been used to protect the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine.
He added: "These include, among others, the imperative to ensure the physical integrity of a nuclear power plant. This is valid irrespective of where an NPP is situated.
"At this juncture, I would like to appeal to all sides to exercise maximum restraint in order to avoid a nuclear accident with the potential for serious radiological consequences."
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"I am personally in contact with the relevant authorities of both countries and will continue to be seized of the matter. I will continue to update the international community as appropriate."
In Belarus to the north of Ukraine, where Russian troops are deployed, President Alexander Lukashenko said that its air defences shot down unspecified objects launched from Ukraine that were flying over Belarusian territory.
The dictator said: “I do not understand why Ukraine needs this. We need to figure it out. As I said before, we made it clear to them that any provocations will not go unanswered."
Belarusian Defence Minister Viktor Khrenin later identified the objects as drones and said that Lukashenko has ordered troop reinforcements sent to border areas.
