IAEA Warns of Drone Explosion Near South Ukraine Nuclear Plant

The IAEA warned of a new threat to nuclear safety in Ukraine after a drone crash and explosion were recorded near the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant.

The Gaze reports on it, referring to a press release from the International Atomic Energy Agency.

On September 25, 2025, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi reported an incident near the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant, where a drone was shot down and detonated 800 meters from the perimeter of the facility.

According to the Agency, 22 drones were detected in the surveillance zone during the night of September 24-25, some of which approached within half a kilometer of the plant.

The IAEA team on site recorded the explosion and inspected the crash site of one of the devices, where a crater four square meters wide and about one meter deep had formed.

In addition, metal structures and windows of nearby vehicles were damaged, as well as a 150 kV regional power line that was not connected to the nuclear power plant. There were no casualties, and no direct impact on the operation of the station was recorded.

“Fortunately, last night’s incident did not result in any damage to the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant itself. Next time we may not be so lucky. I continue to urge both sides to show maximum military restraint around all important nuclear facilities,” Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.

The IAEA reported that the drone incident near the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant occurred just 30 hours after the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant lost its external power supply for the tenth time since the start of the war.

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been without external power for more than two days, which is the longest of all ten complete shutdowns. The plant is forced to rely on emergency diesel generators to provide electricity to the cooling systems of six shut-down reactors and other critical safety functions.

Before the war, the ZNPP had ten power lines, but now only one remains, and it has been damaged by the fighting.

Seven generators are currently in operation, and fuel reserves are sufficient to keep them running for almost 20 days.

Director General Grossi stressed that the nuclear safety situation in Ukraine remains extremely fragile and that the Agency's mission will only be successful “if the war ends without a serious nuclear accident.”

As The Gaze informed earlier, a Russian missile strike on Zaporizhzhia on August 10 damaged the External Crisis Center of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), a facility critical to monitoring radiation levels in the region.