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No explosive device was found in the inner perimeter, said Director General Rafael Grossi.
Experts of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported on Tuesday that directional anti-personnel mines were found on the periphery of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP).
Director General Rafael Grossi said in a statement that the IAEA team of experts stationed at the ZNPP saw "some mines located in a buffer zone between the site's inner and outer perimeter barriers."
The IAEA team conducted an inspection in the area on Sunday. According to the agency, the mines were located in a restricted area that is not accessible to plant personnel.
Grossi said no explosive devices were found inside the inner perimeter. "Our team has raised this specific finding with the plant, and they have been told that this is a military decision and in a military-controlled area," the official said.
During a walkdown on 23 July, IAEA experts have observed directional anti-personnel mines on the periphery of the site of #Ukraine’s #Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, Director General @rafaelmgrossi said today. https://t.co/NPTr5apDCP pic.twitter.com/99U8Yvem9J
— IAEA - International Atomic Energy Agency ⚛️ (@iaeaorg) July 24, 2023
In addition, the Director General said that "having such explosives on site is incompatible with IAEA safety standards and nuclear safety guidance and creates additional psychological pressure on plant personnel."
Grossi added that, taking into account the experts' initial assessment, the detonation of these mines would not affect the site's nuclear safety systems.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, has been under Russian control since early March 2022. Amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, its six reactors remain shut down.
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