A drone strike in the vicinity of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in occupied southeastern Ukraine has resulted in the death of one nuclear specialist and left 17 others injured, according to reports from Russian authorities. Moscow has attributed the launch of the drone to Ukrainian forces. The facility, which is Europe’s largest nuclear plant, has been a focal point of international security concerns since the onset of the full-scale conflict in February 2022.
Russian management at the site stated that the majority of those wounded were plant employees. They characterized the incident as one of the most severe in the facility’s history. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that the strike targeted staff members at a bus stop. While the UN nuclear watchdog noted that “no nuclear safety or security damage was reported,” it issued a strong condemnation, calling on military commanders to immediately cease such actions due to the “great risks to nuclear safety.”
Since Russian forces seized the plant a month after the 2022 invasion, it has remained under their management. Although all six of the plant’s reactors have been shut down to prevent potential radioactive leaks, the facility remains a critical piece of infrastructure that once supplied a significant portion of Ukraine’s national grid. The incident occurred just before a planned visit by IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi, who was scheduled to assess safety conditions at the site.
In a separate development occurring hours later, DTEK, Ukraine’s primary energy provider, reported that a Russian strike hit a thermal power plant in central Ukraine. While no casualties were confirmed in that incident, the company stated that the attack resulted in “significant damage to equipment” and forced a complete halt to operations. According to DTEK, this marks the 230th time Russian forces have targeted their thermal facilities as part of an ongoing campaign to dismantle Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. The report also notes that the security of Europe’s biggest nuclear plant has provoked significant global concern amid the full-scale war on Ukraine that Russia launched in February 2022. The report also notes that the safety of the plant – and the potential consequences of a hit amid the hostilities – have been a concern since the start of the war. The report also notes that it’s not clear if that visit will still take place. The report also notes that according to DTEK’s Telegram channel, as it wages a campaign to destroy Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, russia has attacked the company’s thermal plants 230 times since the start of the war.