The UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Tuesday that a drone exploded at a bus stop used by staff of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, killing one and injuring several others.
In a post on X, the IAEA, citing the plant’s director, said the explosion took place around 6 a.m. local time.
“The explosion caused 16 casualties among staff and subcontractors, including one death and three serious injuries,” the agency said.
The plant’s director described the incident as “the worst event the plant has faced,” the IAEA added.
It was not immediately clear whether the drone was Russian or Ukrainian.
Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest with six reactors, in the first weeks of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Both Russia and Ukraine regularly accuse each other of risking nuclear disaster at the plant.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi on Tuesday called on “military commanders responsible for these actions as well as all others aiming [at] nuclear power plants and/or their staff to put an immediate stop to these unacceptable actions.”
They “constitute great risks to nuclear safety and security during the conflict,” Grossi added.
