Worrying news.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has issued an urgent warning following a deadly attack at Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant.
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine was seized by Russian forces in 2022.
Russian forces claim that a worker at the Zaporizhzhia plant was killed in what they call a Ukrainian drone attack.
They wrote on Telegram: “A driver was killed today when a Ukrainian Armed Forces drone struck the transport department at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant [ZNPP].”
So far there has been no response from Ukraine however the International Atomic Energy Agency wrote that their team will look into it.
They added that strikes on or near nuclear power plants can endanger nuclear safety and ‘must not take place’.
In full they said: “IAEA has been informed by the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant that a drone strike this morning killed a driver at its transport workshop in the vicinity of the plant site.
“Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi reiterates that strikes on or near NPPs can endanger nuclear safety and must not take place. The IAEA’s team on the site will look into the incident and continue to monitor the situation.”
Yesterday marked the 40th anniversary of the nuclear disaster at the Chernobyl plant in Ukraine.
What have Russia said:
In a statement, Russian agency Rosatom who have controlled the plant since 2022, said: “A Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant employee has been killed in a strike by the Ukrainian Armed Forces
“Today, a driver was killed as a result of a strike by a Ukrainian Armed Forces drone on the premises of the transport workshop at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.”
They added that the man’s death was a ‘terrible and irreplaceable loss’ and said “employees of the nuclear industry must not be targeted.”
They continued: “Any attacks on the Zaporizhzhia NPP pose a threat not only to people but also to security as a whole. It is a blow to life and to the future.”
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