--- title: "Russia Criticized for Storing Bombs in Nuclear Power Plant" description: "For the second month running, the UN's security watchdog found anti-personnel mines inside Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant." date: "2023-07-25" modified: "2023-07-25" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/russia-storing-bombs-nuclear-plant" categories: - "Energy" - "Nuclear Fusion" - "Renewable Energy" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "nuclear power plant" - "Russia" - "the digest" - "ukraine" --- # Russia Criticized for Storing Bombs in Nuclear Power Plant ![For the second month running, the UN's security watchdog found anti-personnel mines inside Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.]() *MOSCOW, RUSSIA - JULY 13: (RUSSIA OUT) Russian President Vladimir Putin holds his papers during the plenary session of the Future Technologies Forum on July 13, 2023, in Moscow, Russia. "The Future Technologies Forum. Computing and Communications. The Quantum World" is organized by the Government of Russia and operated by Roscongress Foundation. (Photo by Contributor/Getty Images) \Image: Getty Images\* ## Tsar Bomb As basic common sense would have it: no, it's not a good idea to store bombs in or around a nuclear power plant. And yet, according to a newly-lodged International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) complaint, that's exactly what Russia has been doing. Per [*Reuters*' reporting](), the UN nuclear watchdog said on Monday that, for the [second month running](), it had found [anti-personnel mines]() inside [Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant]() during a safety check. This latest warning comes just weeks after Ukraine accused Russia of [planting bombs]() on the facility's roof. The station — Europe's largest nuclear plant — has been controlled by Russian forces for well over a year now, with IAEA officials last month discovering explosives in the plant and around its perimeter. Now, [per the IAEA](), Russia is chalking the continued choice to keep bombs onsite at the plant up to a "military decision." Rest assured, the IAEA is none too pleased about it. "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," IAEA director general Rafael Grossi said in a Monday [statement](). "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 military." ## Psychological Damage To be clear, the IAEA complaint did note that if the mines *were* to detonate, they most likely wouldn't harm the site's security systems. Still, Grossi said, even if the bombs never cause any physical damage, the psychological stress that the presence of the explosives places on employees of the plant — who, operating an occupied nuclear power plant during an ongoing invasion, are dealing with enough as it is — is a violation of safety guidelines in its own right. "Having such explosives on the site," Grossi added in his statement, "is inconsistent with the IAEA safety standards and nuclear security guidance and creates additional psychological pressure on plant staff — even if the IAEA's initial assessment based on its own observations and the plant's clarifications is that any detonation of these mines should not affect the site's nuclear safety and security systems." Regardless, though all the UN watchdog can really do at this point is issue complaints, Grossi says that the IAEA will continue to monitor the facility. "The team," he continued, "will continue its interactions with the plant." **More on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant:** [*Ukraine Accuses Russia of Planting Explosives on Roof of Nuclear Power Plant*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()