Drone Strikes Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant as Russia and Ukraine Trade Blame

A drone struck a turbine building at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine on Saturday, the International Atomic Energy Agency said. It is the latest incident at a site whose safety has become a recurring concern during the war. The International Atomic Energy Agency is the United Nations body that monitors civilian nuclear facilities.

Its director general, Rafael Grossi, expressed serious concern and warned that attacking nuclear sites is extremely dangerous, according to The Hindu. The agency said the strike left a hole in a building wall and that its on-site team had requested access to assess the damage directly.

The two sides describe the event differently. Russia's state nuclear company, Rosatom, said a Ukrainian drone hit the Russian-controlled plant but caused no damage to key equipment, the South China Morning Post reported, while the Ukrainian military denied striking the facility's sixth power unit. The Russian business daily Kommersant reported that the agency had been formally notified of the attack on the turbine hall of that unit and had requested entry. The plant, one of Europe's largest, has been under Russian control for much of the war, and its six reactors are in shutdown.

The dispute over who fired fits a wider pattern in a conflict that has increasingly targeted energy infrastructure on both sides. With each side denying responsibility, the verifiable facts for now are the reported damage and the agency's request for access.