Staff at Europe's biggest nuclear power plant attacked by Ukrainian drone
Workers at Russia's Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) were targeted by a Ukrainian drone just a few hundred meters from the reactor units, the facility's management reported on its official Telegram channel on Friday.
The ZNPP, Europe's largest nuclear power plant, came under Moscow's control in March 2022. The region's residents soon thereafter voted in a referendum to become part of Russia. The plant has since frequently been at the center of hostilities, as both Moscow and Kiev have traded accusations of endangering its safety.
The latest attack took place near the plant's hydraulic structures, approximately 350–400 meters from the reactor units, according to the ZNPP's statement. The drone is said to have damaged a service vehicle but caused no injuries. Personnel involved in clearing operations at the water intake canal managed to take cover before the explosion. The plant emphasized that operations continue under full safety precautions.
The ZNPP's management condemned the Ukrainian drone strike as a 'terrorist act' and called the deliberate targeting of civilian nuclear staff 'a new level of inhumanity' by the Kiev regime.
Russian officials have repeatedly accused Ukraine of nuclear terrorism over strikes on the Zaporozhye facility. The plant has been the target of drone attacks on multiple occasions in recent years.
In April 2024, unmanned aircraft struck near the reactor containment areas, including a direct hit on the dome of Reactor Unit 6.
Earlier this month, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has a monitoring mission deployed to the ZNPP, also confirmed that its team heard repeated rounds of gunfire and multiple explosions during what appeared to be a drone attack on the plant's training center. That incident marked the fourth time this year that the area had been targeted by Kiev.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi responded at the time by stating that 'any attack on any nuclear power plant, in particular Zaporozhye, is absolutely unacceptable.' He warned that such actions must stop immediately due to the risk of 'potentially serious consequences.'
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