IAEA seeks access to Ukrainian nuclear plant after reported strike
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it was concerned by a reported drone strike on a machine hall at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in south-eastern Ukraine and had requested access to the site.
IAEA experts stationed at the plant asked to inspect the affected building, the UN nuclear watchdog said in a post on X on Saturday, adding that it would be the first drone attack on the facility since April 2024 if confirmed.
Earlier, the Moscow-installed management of the plant and Alexei Likhachev, head of Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom, said a drone had struck the turbine hall of reactor unit six.
They blamed the incident on the Ukrainian military, saying the attack involved a fibre-optic-guided drone. No evidence was provided.
Ukraine’s military rejected the accusation, describing it in a statement on Telegram as an attempt by Russia at “nuclear blackmail.”
Zaporizhzhya is Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, with six reactors and a capacity of around 6,000 megawatts.
Russian forces seized the facility shortly after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. All six reactors have since been shut down for safety reasons.
