On Sunday, a Ukrainian drone struck the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), which is located in southeastern Ukraine and has been under Russian control since February 2022.
The plant’s officials said there was no serious damage in the attack, and radiation levels were normal. Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear agency, later said three people were wounded in the attack.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has inspectors at the plant, confirmed the drone attack. “IAEA experts confirmed physical impact of drone attacks at ZNPP today,” the agency wrote on X.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi condemned the attack. “This is a clear violation of the basic principles for protecting Europe’s largest NPP. Such reckless attacks significantly increase the risk of a major nuclear accident and must cease immediately,” Grossi said.
The ZNPP is located in the town of Enerhodar on the south bank of the Dnieper River. Ukraine controls the territory across the river, and the plant has come under Ukrainian shelling throughout the war.
Ukrainian forces have also launched several failed attempts to retake the plant. A report from The Times revealed that the US backed one of the attempts in October 2022 when 600 Ukrainian commandos tried to cross the river. The US supported the raid by providing targeting data so Ukraine could use its US-provided HIMARS rocket systems, which hit Russian positions on the southern bank of the river near the ZNPP.