KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog on Sunday condemned a drone attack on one of the six nuclear reactors at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, saying such an attack “Significantly increases the risk,” he said. It’s a large-scale nuclear power plant accident. ”
Rafael Mariano Grossi confirmed in a statement on social media platform X that there were at least three direct hits to ZNPP’s main reactor containment structure. “That can’t happen,” he said.
Russia claimed Ukraine was responsible for the attack, but the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency did not condemn it. Kiev officials had no immediate comment.
He said it was the first such attack since November 2022, when the government set out five basic principles to avoid serious nuclear accidents involving radioactive material.
Officials at the plant said there had been attacks by Ukrainian military drones on Sunday, including one on the dome of the plant’s No. 6 output unit.
Ukraine: Series of explosions near Europe’s largest nuclear power planthttps://t.co/hMM9ApplyY
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Officials at the plant said there was no serious damage or casualties, and that radiation levels at the plant were normal after the strike. But later on Sunday, Russia’s state nuclear agency Rosatom announced an “unprecedented series of drone attacks,” in particular a drone crash into an area near the site’s cafeteria, injuring three people.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said Sunday that its experts had been informed of the drone attack and that “such an explosion is consistent with IAEA observations.”
In a separate statement, the IAEA confirmed the physical impact of the drone attack on the nuclear power plant, which includes one of its six reactors. One casualty was reported.
“Although the damage to Unit 6 does not compromise nuclear safety, this is a serious accident with the potential to compromise the integrity of the reactor’s containment system,” the report added.
The plant has been under intense fire since Moscow sent troops to Ukraine in 2022 and seized the facility shortly after. The IAEA has repeatedly expressed alarm over Europe’s largest nuclear power plant amid concerns about the potential for nuclear catastrophe. Both Ukraine and Russia have regularly accused the other of attacking the plant, which remains close to the front lines.
The plant’s six reactors have been shut down for months, but they still require power and qualified staff to operate critical cooling systems and other safety features.
Also on Sunday, three people were killed when a Russian projectile hit their home in the front-line town of Khryaipol in Ukraine’s partially occupied southeastern Zaporizhzhya region, regional governor Ivan Fedorov announced. Later on Sunday, two people were injured in another shelling attack on Friipole.
Separately, three people were injured in Russian shelling in the Kharkiv region in northeastern Ukraine, regional governor Ole Sinyevov announced.
In Russia, debris from a crashed Ukrainian drone fell on a car carrying a family of six in Belgorod Oblast, which borders Ukraine, killing one girl and injuring four others, regional governor Vyacheslav said. Mr. Gladkov announced.
