IAEA calls for restraint after attack on Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

(Patria) - Russia and Ukraine must avoid actions that "threaten nuclear safety," the UN watchdog said, after a drone attack on Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia power plant. Russia said Ukraine was behind the attack, which injured three people. Ukraine denied involvement.

The vast nuclear power plant, under Russian control with six reactors, is on the front line of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, BBC reports. The UN atomic energy watchdog has repeatedly warned that an attack on the plant could lead to a nuclear catastrophe.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has a team of experts in Zaporizhzhia,
confirmed the "physical impact of drone attacks" on the plant, including on one of the reactors.

The plant's Russian-installed management said radiation levels were normal and there was no serious damage.

The IAEA said the damage did not compromise nuclear safety, but warned that "this is a serious incident with the potential to compromise the integrity of the reactor containment system".

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi specified that there were "at least three direct hits" on the "main reactor containment structures" in Zaporizhzhia.

"This must not happen," he said.

"No one can benefit or gain any military or political advantage from attacking nuclear facilities. This is forbidden."

The Zaporizhzhia plant is the largest in Europe. Russian forces seized it after the invasion in February 2022. Russia and Ukraine regularly accuse each other of shelling the plant. The plant's Russian administration said the Ukrainian armed forces were behind the attack, but Ukraine denied these accusations.

"Ukraine was not involved in any armed provocations at this location," said Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate spokesperson Andriy Yusov. The facility is "illegally occupied by Russia," he added.

He accused Russia of endangering the nuclear facility, the civilian population, and the environment by carrying out strikes on the facility itself.

Last month, the IAEA said its team of experts at the plant heard explosions every day for a week.