Anika Begay
(Reuters) – Security at Ukraine’s Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is deteriorating after a drone strike hit a perimeter access road on Saturday, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.
The Russian management of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant said that a Ukrainian drone dropped an explosive charge on a road used by personnel, the TASS news agency reported earlier.
Russia seized control of the Zaporizhia site, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, soon after launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The plant has been idle since Moscow and Kiev have repeatedly accused each other of trying to sabotage its operations and jeopardize security near the facility.
“Once again we are witnessing an escalation of the dangers for nuclear safety and the protection of nuclear power plants,” Grossi said.
“I remain extremely concerned and reiterate my call for maximum restraint on all sides and strict observance of the five concrete principles established for the protection of the plant.”
The impact site was near essential cooling water irrigation basins and about 100 metres from the Dniprovska power line, the only remaining 750-kilovolt line supplying power to the plant, the IAEA said.
An IAEA team visited the area on Saturday and reported that the damage appeared to have been caused by a drone equipped with an explosive payload.
The report states that there were no casualties and that there was no impact on the equipment of the nuclear power plant. However, there was an impact on the road between the two main gates of the plant.
The attack comes as Ukraine continues its incursion into Russia, claiming to have taken control of 82 settlements covering 1,150 square kilometres (444 square miles) in the Kursk region since August 6.
Moscow wants to discuss the attack on the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant with the IAEA, Russian news agency RIA reported, citing Roman Ustinov, Russia’s acting representative in Vienna.
