U.N. nuclear watchdog says Ukraine research facility damaged, no material missing

(Reuters) – The U.N.’s nuclear watchdog on Friday said a probe of a research facility in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv found it was badly damaged, but there were no signs of a radiological release or diversion of nuclear material.

An International Atomic Energy Agency team visited the Kharkiv Institute of Technology from Nov 8 to 10, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a statement. In June, Ukraine said Russia had shelled the facility.

“Although radiation levels were normal, the extent of damage to this nuclear research facility is dramatic and shocking, even worse than expected,” Grossi said.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Diane Craft)