Ukraine unleashes ‘wave of drones’ to strike Russian nuclear plant | World | News
A Ukraine drone struck the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on Sunday, the plant’s Russian-installed administration said, as the International Atomic Energy Agency urged restraint.
The Zaporizhzhia power plant, considered to be Europe’s largest, has been occupied by Russian forces since the start of their full-scale of invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Russian officials said the Ukranian Armed Forces deployed a wave of drones to hit the power plant, including a strike on the dome above the plant’s sixth power unit.
There was no critical damage to the plant’s critical infrastructure including its six reactors, and radiation levels were normal after the attack, according to the plant’s officials on Telegram.
READ MORE: Europe’s largest nuclear plant ‘in extremely dangerous situation’ after strikes
Russian state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom, however, claimed the site was under a “unprecedented series of drone attacks,” injuring at least three of the power plant’s employees.
The corporation said one of the strikes hit an area close to the site’s canteen, but did not specify what type of weapon was used.
Daily Express US could not independently verify these claims.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Sunday that its experts had been informed by the Russian-controlled plant that a drone detonated on site, and that “such detonation is consistent with IAEA observations.”
Rafael Mariano Grossi, chief of the UN’s nuclear watchdog agency, has warned both Ukraine and Russia to refrain from actions that pose a risk to nuclear safety.
a“I urge refraining from actions that contradict the 5 IAEA principles and jeopardize nuclear safety,” Grossi said on X.
The nuclear plant, originally built by the Soviet Union, has six VVER-1000 pressurized water reactors containing uranium-235.
The plant’s six reactors have been shut down for months, but it still needs power and qualified staff to operate crucial cooling systems and other safety features.
The power plant – located in southeast Ukraine – has been caught in the crossfire since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in 2022 and seized the facility shortly after.
Both Ukraine and Russia have regularly accused the other of attacking the plant, which remains close to the front lines.
The IAEA has repeatedly expressed grave concerns about the plant amid mounting fears of a potential nuclear catastrophe.
In 2022, for example, the UN nuclear agency released a report that addresses an “urgent” need to establish a “nuclear safety and security protection zone” around the power plant.
It emphasized that the ongoing war could trigger a nuclear disaster not just for the country still scarred by the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, but for the country “beyond its borders.”
“It is the first time a military conflict has occurred amid the facilities of a large, established nuclear power” program, the IAEA said in the report.
