Russia on Sunday said that a Ukrainian drone targeted the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), a day after a similar claim by Moscow, which was denied by Kyiv.
The Russian-installed management at the ZNPP said in a statement on Telegram that a drone attack by Ukraine hit the plant’s transport hub.
“As a result of today’s strike, six buses and two GAZelle vehicles were destroyed. There were no casualties among the personnel,” the statement said, arguing that such actions create additional risks to the facility’s stable operation and the safety of its employees.
It added that the ZNPP is operating normally, and that operational safety is “fully ensured.”
The accusation comes a day after Russia’s state atomic energy corporation Rosatom claimed that a Ukrainian combat drone struck the turbine building of Zaporizhzhia’s sixth power unit, causing a subsequent blast.
“The explosion did not damage key equipment, but it did blow a hole in the turbine hall wall. It’s noteworthy that the drone was controlled via fiber optics, completely ruling out the possibility of an accidental impact,” Rosatom chief Alexey Likhachev said in a statement.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi confirmed the same day that the agency was informed by the plant that a drone struck a turbine building at the site.
The IAEA said on Sunday that its team at the ZNPP observed damage to the exterior of a turbine building during a site walkdown in the morning, and that the team’s observations are “consistent with the impact of a drone.”
The IAEA also requested access to the inside of the building for further examination, noting that it is located immediately next to reactor unit 6, the statement said, adding that the team confirmed radiation levels at the site remain normal.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, on Saturday, slammed Moscow’s accusation as “baseless,” saying Kyiv considers the claim “another information operation” aimed at distracting the international community’s attention from Russia’s control over the plant during the ongoing war.
“We denied the accusations yesterday, and we deny the new ones today. Usually, Moscow uses such accusations as a smokescreen and an informational alibi before committing its own crimes,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi wrote on US social media company X following Russia’s latest claim.
The situation around Zaporizhzhia, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant and one of the world’s 10 largest, remains tense as concerns persist over a possible nuclear disaster, with Moscow and Kyiv frequently accusing each other of attacks around the facility.
From Sept. 1, 2022, IAEA personnel have been present at the plant, which has been under Russian control since March 2022.
