The nuclear safety situation at the Zaporizhzhia power plant in Russian-occupied Ukraine is deteriorating following a drone attack near the site, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog said.
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said he remained “extremely concerned” and called for “maximum restraint on all sides” to protect the plant.
The agency said the strike’s impact was on a road just outside the facility – near essential sprinkler ponds and about 100m from the only remaining high-voltage power line.
The plant was captured by Russian troops at the beginning of the war and came under repeated attacks, with both sides blaming the other.
Last week, Kyiv and Moscow blamed each other after a fire broke out in one of the plant’s cooling towers.
The IAEA did not say who carried out Saturday’s attack, but the agency’s team based in Zaporizhzhia said the damage appeared to have been caused by a drone carrying explosives.
“The team heard continuous explosions, heavy machine gun fire, rifle fire and artillery fire at various distances from the plant,” the agency said in a statement.
The plant has not produced electricity for more than two years and all six reactors have been frozen since April.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022 and has recently made slow progress in seizing more territory in eastern Ukraine.
However, the country was shocked when Ukrainian troops entered the Kursk region, where they had been consolidating positions for nearly two weeks.
Thousands of Russians have been evacuated from the area.
On Sunday, the head of Ukraine’s air force, Mykola Oleshchuk, said his forces had destroyed a second bridge in the Kursk region “depriving the enemy of its logistical capabilities”.
Earlier this week, Ukraine destroyed a bridge over the Seym River used by the Kremlin to supply troops.
This is the first time foreign troops have been present on Russian soil since World War II.
