IAEA urges restraint after Russia reports Ukrainian drone attack on Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
- 9 April, 19:13
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA] has issued a warning after Russia said on Sunday that Ukraine launched a drone attack on Moscow-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant [ZNPP].
"I urge to refrain from actions that contradict the five IAEA principles and jeopardise nuclear safety," the UN agency's director Rafael Grossi said. “IAEA experts have been informed by ZNPP that a drone detonated on site today. Such detonation is consistent with IAEA observations,” the nuclear watchdog said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. It claimed the drone hit the plant's canteen, wounding three staff members, one of them "severely." However, the agency said there was no radioactive release as a result of the attack on Europe’s largest atomic plant.
Ukrainian troops attacked the dome of the sixth power unit of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the Russian-installed management of the nuclear power plant reported. Russia's nuclear agency ROSATOM urged the West and Grossi to "categorically condemn the attempt to escalate the situation around the biggest nuclear power plant in Europe."
Since March 2022, Russia has been in control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant following its occupation of much of southeastern Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region. The plant is situated near the conflict zone, leading to frequent allegations from both Ukraine and Russia regarding potential shelling incidents, raising concerns about the risk of a nuclear catastrophe.
