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☆ Zaporizhzhia: Evacuations from Russian-occupied Ukrainian region raise concerns of nuclear power plant safety
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Helen Regan Julia Kesaieva Mariya Knight Katharina Krebs Kostan Nechyporenko Stephanie Halasz | Helen Regan | Julia Kesaieva | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

But the evacuation of a town close to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has raised concerns about the facility’s stability. The plant, Europe’s largest nuclear power station, is held by Russian forces but mostly operated by a Ukrainian workforce. The plant is also significant because Ukraine relies heavily on nuclear power. On the groundOn Sunday, Ukraine’s Operation Command South spokeswoman said Russian forces were trying to exhaust Ukraine’s air defense system. Bakhmut has been the site of a months-long assault by Russian forces that has driven thousands from their homes and left the area devastated.

☆ Situation around Europe's largest nuclear power plant is 'potentially dangerous,' watchdog warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Leila Sackur | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Members of the delegation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) visit the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine on March 29, 2023. The situation in the area near Europe's largest nuclear power plant is "becoming increasingly unpredictable and potentially dangerous," the head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog said Saturday. International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a statement that he was "extremely concerned about the very real nuclear safety and security risk," facing the Zaporizhzhia power plant in southeast Ukraine. "I'm extremely concerned about the very real nuclear safety and security risks facing the plant. The 1986 disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant near the northern Ukrainian city of Pripyat is considered the worst on record.

☆ UN nuclear boss visits Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi is seen on his way to Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine March 29, 2023. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Press Service/Handout via REUTERSKYIV, March 29 (Reuters) - The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog visited the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in southeastern Ukraine on Wednesday as part of efforts to avert the risk of an atomic accident. Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, arrived at Europe's largest nuclear power plant to review the situation there, an IAEA spokesperson said. Moscow and Kyiv have repeatedly accused each other of shelling the site of the power station over the last year. Grossi, who met President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday, described the situation at the plant as "very dangerous" and very unstable. The IAEA has had its own monitors stationed at the Zaporizhzhia plant since last year, when Grossi travelled to the facility and fears were mounting of the possibility for a nuclear accident.

☆ Ukraine says Russian forces make progress in frontline city of Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"Enemy forces had a degree of success in their actions aimed at storming the city of Bakhmut," the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said in its regular nighttime report. Russian officials say their forces are still capturing ground in street-by-street fighting inside Bakhmut. [1/5] A tank is towed through a road, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, near the bombed-out eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, in the eastern Donetsk region, Ukraine, March 29, 2023. Russian forces shelled towns in central Zaporizhzhia region, including the contested centre of Hulyaipole, the Ukrainian general staff statement said. Rocket and artillery in the past 24 hours struck two areas of concentration of Russian forces, an ammunition depot and two fuel depots, it said.

☆ Russian forces making no headway in Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Ukraine says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/6] A damaged building is seen, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Avdiivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, March 28, 2023, in this still image obtained from a social media video. But the military said Ukrainian fighters continued to successfully repel Russian forces and claimed that Russia was suffering high combat deaths in the offensive. Britain's defence ministry said Russian forces had made only "marginal progress" in an attempt to encircle Avdiivka in recent days and had lost many armoured vehicles and tanks. Denis Pushilin, the Russian-installed leader of the part of Donetsk region under Moscow's control, said most Ukrainian forces had pulled back from a metals factory in western Bakhmut. "In principle, we cannot speak of them (Russian forces) having achieved any strategic advances in the last few hours or even days," Ukrainian spokesman Cherevatiy said.

☆ Zelenskiy to IAEA: Russia holds nuclear plant hostage
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Dan Peleschuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The president met Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, on Monday at the Dnipro hydroelectric power station - northeast of the Zaporizhzhia plant. Russian officials say they want to connect the Zaporizhzhia plant to the Russian grid. Russia said last month the construction of protective structures for key facilities at the Zaporizhzhia plant were nearing completion. "Holding a nuclear power station hostage for more than a year - this is surely the worst thing that has ever happened in the history of European or worldwide nuclear power," Zelenskiy said. Last week, the Ukrainian military warned that Avdiivka, a smaller town 90 km (55 miles) farther south, could become a "second Bakhmut" as Russia turns its attention there.

☆ Russia's war on Ukraine latest: Ukraine slams Putin's nuclear weapons plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Ukrainian servicemen stand next to a destroyed building near the frontline town of Kreminna, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Luhansk region, Ukraine March 24, 2023. Erdogan thanked Putin for his "positive attitude" in extending the Black Sea grain deal, the Kremlin said in a statement. * U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said on Saturday he will visit the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine next week to assess the serious situation there. Erdogan thanked Putin for his "positive attitude" in extending the Black Sea grain deal, the Kremlin said in a statement. * SPECIAL REPORT-Wagner’s convicts tell of horrors of Ukraine war and loyalty to their leaderCompiled by Reuters editorsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Exclusive: IAEA confirms almost all missing uranium in Libya now accounted for
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Francois Murphy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

VIENNA, March 24 (Reuters) - Most of the roughly 2.5 tons of natural uranium ore concentrate (UOC) recently declared missing from a site in Libya have been found at that site, the U.N. nuclear watchdog told member states on Friday in a statement seen by Reuters. The International Atomic Energy Agency informed member states in a similar confidential statement on March 15 first reported by Reuters that 10 drums containing the UOC had gone missing from a Libyan site not under government control. "During the (inspection), Agency inspectors observed that drums that had not been present at the declared location at the time of the previous (inspection) had since been brought back and left in close proximity to the declared location," it said. "Agency inspectors confirmed that these drums contained UOC and witnessed their transfer back to within the declared location for storage," the statement added. Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Leslie Adler and Alistair BellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Explainer: Everything to know about nuclear fuel uranium
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Here is everything you need to know about uranium and its usage as a nuclear fuel. WHAT IS URANIUM USED FOR? The radioactive metal is the most widely used fuel for nuclear energy due to its abundance and the relative ease of splitting its atoms. It is also used in treating cancer, for naval propulsion, and in nuclear weapons. HOW MUCH URANIUM IS NEEDED FOR A NUCLEAR WEAPONThe amount of uranium that went missing contains enough of the U-235 isotope to build a first-generation nuclear bomb if enriched to over 90%, according to Dr. Edwin Lyman from the Union of Concerned Scientists.

☆ Exclusive: Tons of uranium missing from Libyan site, IAEA tells member states
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Francois Murphy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Summary IAEA inspectors visited site not controlled by govtInspection postponed since 2022 over security situationWatchdog found 10 barrels of natural uranium missingIAEA sees possible radiological risk, security concernsVIENNA, March 15 (Reuters) - U.N. nuclear watchdog inspectors have found that roughly 2.5 tons of natural uranium have gone missing from a Libyan site that is not under government control, the watchdog told member states in a statement on Wednesday seen by Reuters. IAEA inspectors "found that 10 drums containing approximately 2.5 tons of natural uranium in the form of UOC (uranium ore concentrate) previously declared by (Libya) ... as being stored at that location were not present at the location," the one-page statement said. "The loss of knowledge about the present location of nuclear material may present a radiological risk, as well as nuclear security concerns," it said, adding that reaching the site required "complex logistics". Since 2014, political control has been split between rival eastern and western factions, with the last major bout of conflict ending in 2020. Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ukraine scorns Russian missile strikes on civilians, defence of Bakhmut holds
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/7] Ukrainian servicemen walk along a muddy road near the frontline town of Bakhmut amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Donetsk region, Ukraine March 8, 2023. Kyiv says the air strikes have no military purpose and aim to harm and intimidate civilians, a war crime. Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said that the failure of Russian intelligence to identify military targets and led to a "Plan B - demoralising the population". HYPERSONIC MISSILESThe White House said that the barrage was "devastating" to see and Washington would continue to provide Ukraine with air defence capabilities. Moscow says Bakhmut is important as a step to securing the surrounding Donbas region, a major war aim.

☆ Netanyahu rebuffs IAEA chief's remarks against possible attack on Iran
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JERUSALEM, March 5 (Reuters) - Israel rebuffed as "unworthy" on Sunday comments by the U.N. nuclear watchdog chief that any Israeli or U.S. attack on Iran's nuclear facilities would be illegal. He was responding to a reporter's question about threats by Israel and the United States to attack Iran's nuclear facilities if they deem diplomacy meant to deny it the bomb to be at a dead end. "Rafael Grossi is a worthy person who made an unworthy remark," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet in televised remarks on Sunday. Is it permissible for Iran, which openly calls for our destruction, to organise the tools of slaughter for our destruction? The IAEA said on Saturday Grossi had received sweeping assurances from Iran that it will assist a long-stalled investigation into uranium particles found at undeclared sites and re-install removed monitoring equipment.

☆ UN nuclear watchdog chief cites 'great expectation' in talks with Iran
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

March 4 (Reuters) - The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Saturday talks were ongoing with Iran on two sets of important matters including the science sector, and there was "great expectation" about the process. Clearly, there is great expectation about our joint work in order to move forward in the issues that Iran and the agency are working on, to clarify and to bring credible assurances about the nuclear programme in Iran," Grossi told reporters in Tehran. Grossi said the talks were taking place in an "atmosphere of work, honesty and cooperation". Under a 2015 agreement with six world powers, Iran curbed its disputed uranium enrichment programme in return for relief from international sanctions. Grossi said it was an “issue of necessity to have a very deep, serious systematic dialogue with Iran.

☆ Iran makes sweeping pledge of cooperation to IAEA before board meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Francois Murphy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The International Atomic Energy Agency and Iran issued a joint statement on IAEA chief Rafael Grossi's return from a trip to Tehran just two days before a quarterly meeting of the agency's 35-nation Board of Governors. "Iran expressed its readiness to ... provide further information and access to address the outstanding safeguards issues," the joint statement said. A confidential IAEA report to member states seen by Reuters said Grossi "looks forward to ... prompt and full implementation of the Joint Statement". Follow-up talks in Iran between IAEA and Iranian officials aimed at hammering out the details would happen "very, very soon", Grossi said. Asked if all that monitoring equipment would be re-installed, Grossi replied "Yes".

☆ A nuclear watchdog says it found uranium in Iran that's less than 7% away from bomb-making levels in enrichment purity
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A UN nuclear watchdog has found uranium enriched to 83.7% purity at Iran's nuclear plants. The new findings come as Iran continually breaches its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. On February 19, Bloomberg reported that the highly enriched uranium had been discovered, citing two senior diplomats. That means it's been breaching its 2015 nuclear deal with Western powers, China, and Russia. Iran has in turned continually breached the deal, raising the level of its uranium enrichment and stockpiling more material.

☆ IAEA report says pressing Iran on enrichment to near bomb-grade
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Diplomats said last week that the agency had found the traces at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP), where Iran is enriching uranium to up to 60% purity. The International Atomic Energy Agency chided Iran in an earlier report for making substantial changes to those cascades without informing it. The report also said Iran's stock of uranium enriched to up to 60%, which is being produced at two sites, had grown by 25.2 kg to 87.5 kg since the last quarterly report. The total stockpile of uranium enriched to that and lower levels is estimated at 3,760.8 kg, the report said. Iran denies ever having sought nuclear weapons and says it only wants to master nuclear technology for civil uses.

☆ Iran denies enriching uranium above 60% - IRNA
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Iran has denied reports that it has enriched uranium to 84% purity, which is close to weapons grade. The Islamic Republic has been enriching uranium to up to 60% purity since April 2021. Three months ago it started enriching to that level at a second site, Fordow, which is dug into a mountain. The presence of particles above 60% enrichment does not mean production with an enrichment above 60%," the spokesperson for Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, Behrouz Kamalvandi, said on Monday, according to the official IRNA News agency. Bloomberg News reported on Sunday that U.N. nuclear watchdog monitors had last week detected uranium enriched at 84%.

☆ IAEA says it is in discussions with Iran after report of enrichment
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

VIENNA, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Sunday it was discussing the results of recent verification activities with Iran after Bloomberg News reported that the agency had detected uranium enriched to 84% purity, which is close to weapons grade. "The IAEA is aware of recent media reports relating to uranium enrichment levels in Iran," the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Twitter. "The IAEA is discussing with Iran the results of recent Agency verification activities and will inform the IAEA Board of Governors as appropriate." loadingReporting by Francois Murphy, editing by Deepa BabingtonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ IAEA chides Iran for undeclared change to Fordow uranium enrichment setup
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Francois Murphy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The International Atomic Energy Agency found the change during an unannounced inspection on Jan. 21 at the Fordow Fuel enrichment Plant (FFEP), a site dug into a mountain where inspectors are stepping up checks after Iran said it would dramatically expand enrichment. Fordow is so sensitive that the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major powers banned enrichment there. Since the United States pulled out of the deal in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions against Iran, the Islamic Republic has breached many of the deal's restrictions on its nuclear activities. The IAEA has had regular access to Fordow to carry out verification activities like inspections and it is in talks with Iran on stepping up those activities, the report said. However, some other safeguards measures are still required and are being discussed with Iran," the report added.

☆ Blasts near Ukraine nuclear plant, says UN watchdog; Russia calls it provocation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 26 (Reuters) - The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog on Thursday reported powerful explosions near Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station and renewed calls for a security zone around the plant. Russian forces seized the plant in early March, soon after invading neighbouring Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of firing around it near the front lines, prompting the IAEA to place experts at all of Ukraine's five nuclear stations. Grossi, who visited Ukraine last week, said IAEA monitors routinely reported explosions near the plant. On the other, they are again sowing doubt in Western public opinion that somehow Russia cannot cope with upholding nuclear safety."

☆ Russian spy service says HIMARS, other weapons deployed at nuclear power stations in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 23 (Reuters) - Russia's foreign intelligence service (SVR) accused Ukraine on Monday of storing Western-supplied arms at nuclear power stations across the country. In a statement, the SVR said U.S.-supplied HIMARS rocket launchers, air defence systems and artillery ammunition had been delivered to the Rivne nuclear power station in the northwest of Ukraine. "The Ukrainian armed forces are storing weapons and ammunition provided by the West on the territory of nuclear power plants," it said, adding that an arms shipment to the Rivne power station had taken place in the last week of December. Ukraine's many nuclear power stations have been the focus of attention since the start of the conflict. Russian forces seized the defunct Chornobyl nuclear power plant less than 48 hours after troops invaded, and also captured the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant - the largest in Europe - early in the war.

☆ Iran has an obligation to give up its nuclear program, Saudi minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Iran should relinquish its nuclear program, which violates international agreements, Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir said Wednesday from the World Economic Forum in Davos. "I believe that Iran has an obligation to give up its nuclear program. Photo: Planet Labs Inc. | APUnder the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal — which involved the U.S. and other powers and lifted economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program — Iran's uranium enrichment was limited to 3.67%, enough for a civilian nuclear energy program. Tehran maintains that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes and that having one is its sovereign right. Ukraine has blamed Iran for providing Russia with drones, which have been used to attack Kyiv.

☆ Weapons for Russia, anti-government protests and the nuclear deal: What lies ahead for Iran in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

The Biden administration went from encouraging negotiations on reviving the Iranian nuclear deal to levying more sanctions on Tehran and condemning it for providing lethal weapons and training to Russian forces fighting in Ukraine. Iran's Foreign Ministry denies knowing about Iranian weapons transfers to Russia, despite evidence of Iranian-made drones wreaking havoc on Ukrainian cities. Sergei Savostyanov | AFP | Getty Images"2023 is going to be a pivotal year for Iran," Ali Vaez, Iran project director at non-profit Crisis Group, told CNBC. The nuclear deal: too far gone? Ukraine has blamed Iran for providing Russia with drones, which have been used to attack Kyiv.

The flag of Iran is seen in front of the building of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Headquarters on May 24, 2021 in Vienna, Austria. The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog will send a delegation to the Iranian capital of Tehran on Dec. 18 to clarify outstanding 'safeguards' issues, linked to nuclear particles discovered at Iranian nuclear sites. Earlier on Dec. 14, Iranian state news agency Irna reported IAEA officials would visit Iran in the coming days. It cited Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, as expressing hope that this interaction would remove obstacles and ambiguities. The visit from the IAEA comes as Iran is enriching uranium at the highest levels in its history — one technical step away from weapons-grade, the nuclear watchdog agency has warned.

CNN —Nearly 10 months after his invasion of Ukraine began, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday acknowledged that the conflict is “going to take a while,” as he also warned of the “increasing” threat of nuclear war. And without categorically ruling out the first use of nuclear weapons, Putin said he viewed the Russian nuclear arsenal as a deterrent rather than a provocation. “Nevertheless, we have a strategy… namely, as a defense, we consider weapons of mass destruction, nuclear weapons – it is all based around the so-called retaliatory strike,” he said. We are aware of what nuclear weapons are. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant been rocked by explosions in recent months amid fighting nearby, with Kyiv and Moscow blaming each other for the attacks.

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