A drone hit the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Russian-controlled southern Ukraine, the UN nuclear agency has said, citing local officials.
The International Atomic Energy Agency posted on social media that the Russian-run plant’s operator informed it that a drone had hit the turbine building on Saturday, “reportedly causing a hole in its wall”.
Russian media carried a statement from state-owned nuclear power firm Rosatom accusing Ukraine of a deliberate attack — a claim strongly denied by Kiev.
Close to the front line in southern Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia is the biggest nuclear power plant in Europe.
Moscow and Kiev have repeatedly accused each other of risking a nuclear catastrophe with attacks since it was captured by Russia’s forces in 2022.
“There should be no attack of any kind from or against the plant”, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi was quoted as saying in the agency’s X post late on Saturday. “Attacking nuclear sites is like playing with fire.”
Rosatom alleged the drone was controlled via a fibre-optic cable, which ruled out “the possibility of an accidental strike”.
