Ukraine ‘deliberately’ attacked Europe’s largest nuclear power plant: Rosatom

The Ukrainian military has “deliberately” attacked Russia’s Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), puncturing a hole in the machine hall of one of the facility’s units, according to the Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom.

Speaking on Sunday, Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev said a fiber-optic-guided drone struck the machine hall of the plant’s sixth power unit on Saturday.

Given that such munitions are guided by their operators until the impact, the strike was carried out deliberately, and any “theories of an accidental hit” can be ruled out, Likhachev stated.

“One could, if I may put it this way, ‘congratulate’ the entire international community – this is the first-ever deliberate attack on the nuclear power plant’s main equipment, with a penetrative explosion and damage to the machine hall,” he said.

“The Ukrainian armed forces repeatedly cross not just red lines, but the very boundaries of common sense. What to expect next? Strikes directly on the turbine? The reactor hall? The reactor and its safety systems?”

Likhachev also warned that a serious incident at the facility could have consequences extending beyond the immediate conflict zone.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi has expressed “serious concern” over the “reported incident” at the plant, the organization said.

Grossi warned against attacks on nuclear sites, describing them as “playing with fire.” 

The agency added that it had requested access “to examine the affected turbine building first-hand.”

IAEA chief condemns Ukraine's drone strike on Russian-held nuclear power plant

The head of the UN’s atomic watchdog agency denounces the drone strike that hit the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP), warning that such attacks “significantly increase the risk of a major nuclear accident.”

Later in the day, ex-Russian President and Deputy Chief of the Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, warned that the potential destruction of a power unit at the ZNPP would result in a “new Chernobyl.” 

An incident of such magnitude is “not any better than the use of tactical nuclear weaponry,” he said, adding that it could ultimately prompt “symmetrical” retaliatory strikes on nuclear power plants in Ukraine and “NATO nations involved in the conflict.”

The ZNPP administration said radiation levels remained within normal limits and reported no casualties or critical damage.

Ukraine denied involvement in the incident, claiming it does not possess fiber-optic-guided drones with sufficient range or explosive power to penetrate the structure as described by Russian officials.

The power plant, however, is located on the banks of the Dnieper River, with Ukrainian-controlled territory situated across the waterway.

According to Rosatom and ZNPP administration, attacks on structures within the plant’s perimeter and on its personnel have increased in recent weeks.

The ZNPP has been under Russian control since the early months of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

It has been operated by Rosatom since the fall of 2022, when the Zaporozhye Region voted in a referendum to join Russia.

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