IAEA: nuclear threat - drone explodes at Zaporizhzhya NPP, damages reactors 1 and 6
A drone exploded on the territory of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), the largest in Europe, occupied by Russian troops, on Sunday, 7 April. The first and sixth reactors and one person were injured, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on X (Twitter).
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi confirmed that a drone had exploded on the territory of ZNPP, but did not provide any details of the incident.
"ZNPP informed the IAEA experts that a drone detonated on the territory of the plant today. We also observed such a detonation. I urge you to refrain from actions that contradict the five IAEA principles and violate nuclear safety," the statement said.
The IAEA experts confirmed the physical impact of today's drone attacks on ZNPP, including on 1 of 6 reactors.
"This is a serious incident that could lead to a violation of the integrity of the reactor containment system," the IAEA said.
Ukraine is not involved in any armed provocations at the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP, said Andriy Yusov, a representative of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, in a comment to Ukrayinska Pravda.
"The aggressor state is once again endangering the nuclear facility, civilians and the environment throughout Europe. Russian strikes, including simulated strikes, on the territory of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant, as well as the deployment of troops and weapons there, mining of ZNPP facilities have long been a well-known and constant criminal practice of the occupiers," Yusov said.
He emphasised that "Russia must withdraw its troops from all ZNPP facilities, only this will allow restoring compliance with all necessary international standards and control over an important nuclear energy facility".
Russian occupation forces seized the city of Enerhodar and the nearby Zaporizhzhia NPP in early March 2022. In September 2023, the president of Energoatom said that 822 Ukrainian nuclear workers remained at the plant. Ukraine has repeatedly accused the Russian occupiers of abducting and torturing the plant's staff.
As The Gaze previously wrote, the nuclear safety situation at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) remains extremely unstable with "very real" potential threats of a major accident. This was stated by Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), at the UN Security Council.