Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced that the agency has been notified of another drone assault on the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in Ukraine, marking a significant escalation in the nuclear safety and security risks at the facility.
An IAEA expert team on site, which had previously documented the effects of similar attacks, observed gunfire sounds followed by a significant explosion, coinciding with the ZNPP’s report of a drone striking the roof of the plant’s training center.
Grossi said: “Whoever is behind them, they are playing with fire. Attacking a nuclear power plant is extremely irresponsible and dangerous, and it must stop.”
Meanwhile, the IAEA Board of Governors will convene a meeting on Thursday at the request of both Russia and Ukraine.
This latest incident raises further alarm about the already critical situation concerning nuclear safety and security at the largest nuclear power station in Europe.
The plant has experienced multiple shellings since the conflict began in February 2022 and has been disconnected from external power sources eight times.
Situated just outside the plant’s boundary, approximately half a kilometer from reactor unit 1, the training center’s vicinity to the incident did not compromise the ZNPP’s nuclear safety and security.
The plant’s six reactors have been inactive for the last 20 months. Nonetheless, ZNPP personnel often work within the training center.
The IAEA team sought prompt entry to the facility to evaluate potential damages but was told that the current military security conditions prevented such access.
