Zaporizhzhia: Drone attacks on nuclear plant 'significantly' increases accident risk
The head of the UN's atomic watchdog agency has condemned a drone strike near the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, saying such attacks “significantly increase the risk of a major nuclear accident".
In a statement on social media, Rafael Mariano Grossi said at least three direct hits against the main reactor containment structures took place.
Russia earlier claimed a Ukrainian drone hit the dome above a reactor at the plant, but that radiation levels remained normal and no serious damage was caused.
Ukraine did not immediately comment on the situation.
Mr Grossi did not confirm the origin of the drone strike, but added: “This cannot happen.”
He said it was the first such attack since November 2022, when he set out five basic principles to avoid a serious nuclear accident with radiological consequences, the AP news agency reported.
Russia’s state-owned nuclear agency Rosatom later on Sunday claimed that three people were wounded when a drone hit an area close to the site's canteen.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Sunday that its experts had been informed of the drone strike and that “such detonation is consistent with IAEA observations".
