‘Dangerous Provocation’: Kremlin Blasts Ukraine For Drone Strike On Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant
The International Atomic Energy Agency is once again sounding the alarm over the potential that disaster could strike the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southeastern Ukraine, which is the largest in Europe.
On Sunday, for the first time since 2022, Ukraine apparently sent a drone against the facility and it struck one of the plant’s six nuclear reactors. While Kiev has firmly denied it was behind the attack, Moscow has denounced it as a “very dangerous provocation” from Ukraine forces. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denounced it as “a very dangerous practice with very bad negative consequences.” He said it’s but the latest example of Kiev’s “terrorist activity.”
“IAEA staff who are on site have had the opportunity to witness these attacks,” Peskov added. Russian state-owned nuclear agency Rosatom reported casualties as a result of the strike, detailing that three people were wounded in the “unprecedented series of drone attacks.”
IAEA head Rafael Grossi warned that if this continues, a serious nuclear accident with radiological consequences could occur. “This cannot happen,” Grossi wrote on X Sunday. He urged both warring sides to avoid any aggression which violates fundamental principles meant to safeguard nuclear facilities.
Russia has long occupied the facility and overseen its operations, utilizing local Ukrainian engineers, and through the course of the war there have been sporadic Ukrainian assaults on the plant.
“Damage at unit 6 has not compromised nuclear safety, but this is a serious incident with potential to undermine integrity of the reactor’s containment system,” Grossi described. The IAEA said that a drone strike resulted in a “detonation” which was “consistent with IAEA observations.”
