Ukrainian Drones Target Russian-Held Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant, Rosatom Chief Says

Ukrainian drones targeted two facilities at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine overnight Monday, according to Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom. Rosatom chief Alexei Likhachev said the attack did not pose a threat to nuclear safety.

Likhachev said a driver delivering food to plant employees was killed in the drone strike.

According to the Rosatom chief, a laboratory building and a radioactive waste processing facility were targeted. Ukraine has not publicly commented on the allegations.

External Power Supply Damaged

The plant’s management said Saturday that Ukrainian shelling in recent weeks had damaged equipment linked to its external power supply. The facility is currently relying on emergency diesel generators for electricity.

Although the plant is not generating electricity, it requires a stable power supply to keep its nuclear fuel cooled. Two external power connections are needed to maintain the facility’s safety systems.

Europe’s Largest Nuclear Plant

Russia seized the Zaporizhzhia facility, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe with six reactors, during the early weeks of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Since then, Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly accused each other of military activity around the facility that could threaten nuclear safety.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s nuclear watchdog, has repeatedly worked to establish temporary ceasefires around the plant to allow repairs to power lines connecting it to Ukraine’s main electricity grid.

IAEA personnel remain stationed at the Zaporizhzhia plant as well as three other nuclear facilities operating in Ukraine.

Russia Accuses West Of Enabling Attacks

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Western countries of effectively encouraging further attacks by failing to publicly condemn the alleged strikes.

“Kyiv’s intensification of shelling the Zaporizhzhia plant has been made possible by the lack of an appropriate response to such actions from Western countries,” Zakharova wrote on the ministry’s website.

She argued that the response to the alleged attacks demonstrated the “true value” of Western statements about nuclear and physical nuclear safety at international forums.