IAEA: drone attack triggers serious incident at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

A drone attack on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest facility of its kind, resulted in a significant incident. Both Ukraine and Russia are pointing fingers at each other regarding the responsibility for the attack.

Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have confirmed that the attack on April 7 caused physical damage to one of the plant’s six reactors, leading to one injury.

The agency has reported that the damage sustained by the plant’s sixth power unit does not immediately threaten nuclear safety. 

However, the severity of the incident raises concerns about potential breaches in the reactor’s protective system shell.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, highlighted that the main structure of the reactor’s protective shell received at least three direct hits during the attack. Grossi emphasized that this marks the first such incident since November 2022. He described the events of April 7 as a serious escalation, stressing the urgency to cease such reckless attacks to prevent a catastrophic nuclear accident.

While the International Atomic Energy Agency refrained from attributing the drone attack to a specific entity, Russia accused Ukraine of responsibility. According to the Russian state corporation Rosatom, three employees of the plant sustained injuries during the attack.In contrast, Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense, denied any involvement in the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant incident. He characterized the attack as a tactic employed by Russian occupation forces.

It’s important to note that the Zaporizhzhia region, home to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, has been under Russian occupation since spring 2022.