KYIV, Ukraine—The director of the United Nations' atomic watchdog agency criticized on Sunday a drone strike on one of six nuclear reactors at Ukraine's Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, saying such strikes "significantly increase the risk of a major nuclear accident."
Rafael Mariano Grossi acknowledged in a message on the social media site X that at least three direct impacts on the ZNPP's main reactor containment structures occurred. "This cannot happen," he remarked.
Russia blamed Ukraine for the assault, while the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency did not assign guilt. Kyiv officials had no quick response.
He said it was the first such attempt since November 2022, when he established five fundamental guidelines to prevent a severe nuclear disaster with radioactive effects.
Officials at the facility reported Ukrainian military drones targeted the site on Sunday, including a hit on the dome of the sixth power unit.
According to plant officials, there was no significant damage or deaths, and radiation levels at the facility were normal following the hits. Later on Sunday, the Russian state-owned nuclear organization Rosatom said that three people were injured in a "unprecedented series of drone attacks," notably when a drone struck an area near the site's cafeteria.
The International Atomic Energy Agency stated Sunday that its specialists were notified of the drone strike and that "such detonation is consistent with IAEA observations."
In a separate statement, the IAEA confirmed physical impact of drone attacks at the plant, including at one of its six reactors. One casualty was reported, it said.
“Damage at unit 6 has not compromised nuclear safety, but this is a serious incident with potential to undermine integrity of the reactor’s containment system” it added.
The power plant has been caught in the crossfire since Moscow pushed soldiers into Ukraine in 2022, seizing the facility immediately after. The IAEA has regularly raised concern over Europe's largest nuclear power plant, citing risks of a nuclear disaster. Ukraine and Russia have repeatedly accused each other of assaulting the facility, which remains near to the combat lines.
The plant's six reactors have been turned off for months, but it still need power and skilled personnel to run critical cooling systems and other safety features.
Also on Sunday, three persons were injured in Russian shelling in Ukraine's northeast Kharkiv area, according to regional governor Oleh Syniehubov.
In Russia, a girl died and four others were injured after the debris of a downed Ukrainian drone landed on a car carrying a family of six in the Belgorod area bordering Ukraine, according to regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.
