Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have found land mines in the area around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine.

The discovery has prompted the agency to point out for the second month in a row that safety procedures are not being followed at the plant.

The IAEA’s head, Rafael Grossi, says that inspectors from the agency found the mines in a buffer zone surrounding the plant.

Mines have also been found at the site in the past.

”However, having such explosives on site violates IAEA safety standards and nuclear safety guidelines and places increased psychological pressure on the plant’s employees,” Grossi said in a statement.

Grossi issued a similar warning in June.

Both in June and in the latest statement, Grossi explains that the mines do not pose an immediate danger to the Zaporizhzhia plant’s employees.

The mines were found in an area on the plant’s premises that is not accessible to the plant’s employees.

If they were to explode, it is the IAEA’s assessment that it would not pose a threat to the safety of the nuclear power plant.

The IAEA is an agency under the UN that monitors safety in and around the world’s nuclear power plants. The head of the agency has visited the Zaporizhzhzhia plant three times since it was taken over by Russian soldiers.

The takeover took place immediately after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In recent months, tensions around the plant have risen as Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of planning an attack on the plant.

In the past, there have been military attacks close to the plant, leading Ukraine and the rest of the world to fear another nuclear disaster.

The Zaporizhzhzhia plant is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.

(Translated using DeepL with additional editing by Christian Radich Hoffman)