The Russians installed anti-personnel landmines on the periphery of the ZNPP site. Explosive shells were discovered during a station tour by International Atomic Energy Agency experts.
“The IAEA team saw some mines located in a buffer zone between the site’s internal and external perimeter barriers. The experts reported that they were situated in a restricted area that operating plant personnel cannot access and were facing away from the site. The team did not observe any within the inner site perimeter during the walkdown,” the IAEA said.
The presence of explosive devices at the station does not meet the IAEA’s safety standards and creates additional psychological pressure on the station’s personnel, the IAEA Director General, Rafael Grossi, said.
“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.
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 [Russian] military,” Grossi explained.
The day before, the Russians also switched one of the power units of the ZNPP to a hot shutdown mode, which created risks in nuclear and radiation safety.
