Moscow, May 31 (IANS) Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are inspecting the impact site of a Ukrainian drone at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), local media reported on Sunday.
“IAEA experts are inspecting the damage caused by the Ukrainian drone strike on Unit 6 of the Zaporizhzhya NPP on May 30,” Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the International Organisations in Vienna, wrote on Facebook, Russia’s state-owned Tass news agency reported.
During the inspection, the team saw damage to a metal access hatch located several levels up in the building, as well as a few pieces of debris and burned optical fiber remains on the ground. The team’s observations are consistent with the impact of a drone, the IAEA wrote on social media platform X.
“During the walk down, the team was told to shelter after hearing the sound of drones nearby and gunfire to repel them. The team was still able to confirm with their measuring equipment that radiation levels at the site remain normal,” the nuclear watchdog highlighted on X.
The IAEA has also requested access to the inside of the building — noting that it is located immediately next to reactor unit 6 — for further examination.
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said the strike was a serious incident that endangered key nuclear safety principles.
Attacks on nuclear sites are unacceptable and must stop in order to prevent the very real risk of a nuclear accident that would benefit no one, Grossi added, noted the post on X.
“This afternoon, a Ukrainian combat drone struck the turbine building of Unit 6, causing a subsequent detonation. The explosion did not damage the main equipment, but it did create a hole in the turbine wall. It’s noteworthy that the drone was controlled via fiber optics. This completely rules out the possibility of an accidental impact,” said Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev on Saturday.
According to Likhachev, this attack marks the first targeted attack on a nuclear power plant’s core equipment in the history of the international community.
–IANS
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