IAEA informed of suspected drone attack on occupied territory of Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, one substation out of service

Drones are said to have attacked the area around the Russian-occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported on July 3, citing the administration of the occupied plant.

“It is extremely worrying that these drone attacks continue despite the obvious threat they pose to the people of Enerhodar and the safety of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. They must stop immediately,” said IAEA Director Rafael Grossi.

The Ukrainian nuclear energy agency Energoatom has not commented on the claims made by the administration of the occupied power plant to the IAEA. It has rejected previous accusations that Ukrainian attacks in the vicinity of the plant were pure Russian propaganda.

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, has been under Russian occupation since March 2022.

Since September 2022, IAEA monitoring teams have been stationed at the nuclear power plant on a rotating basis, but Russian authorities continue to deny IAEA inspectors full access to the facility.

IAEA experts stationed at the plant said they saw thick smoke rising near the facility and heard explosions after learning of a suspected drone attack from officials at the Russian-occupied plant.

The strike caused a fire in the surrounding forests and eight workers were injured, representatives of the Russian-occupied power plant told the IAEA.

The attack affected one of the substations, Raduga. It had reportedly been out of service since July 3, but the Russian-occupied city of Enerhodar received electricity despite the damage to the plant, the statement said.

Ukraine has repeatedly accused Moscow of using the power plant as a launching pad for drone and artillery attacks on the Ukrainian-controlled opposite bank of the Dnipro, which would increase nuclear security risks.

Throughout the occupation, the power plant was repeatedly disconnected from the Ukrainian power grid due to Russian attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure.

Artillery shelling and fires near the Russian-occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant recently destroyed an external radiation monitoring station, the IAEA reported on June 27.

IAEA inspectors said they had not been able to visit the external monitoring station to confirm the reported damage due to ongoing fighting in the area.

Energoatom said in May that in order to avoid a nuclear disaster, the power plant must be handed over to Ukrainian control.

The Russian occupation of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant costs Ukraine over 5 billion dollars

Ukraine’s nuclear energy agency Energoatom has lost over 210 billion rubles ($5.2 billion) due to Russia’s occupation of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, Energoatom’s acting head Petro Kotin said on June 18.