IAEA urges halt to attacks on town near Russian-occupied nuclear plant in Ukraine

VIENNA – The UN’s nuclear watchdog called on June 23 for a halt to attacks on Enerhodar, a town near the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, after drone strikes earlier in the month hit two electricity substations serving the area.

The plant’s Russia-installed officials accused Ukraine of staging two drone strikes that destroyed one substation and damaged another, cutting power to residents for a time.

Mr Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), made no reference to Ukraine and said the incidents had no effect on the Zaporizhzhia plant’s operations. But he said the attacks had to stop.

“Whoever is behind this, it must stop. Drone usage against the plant and its vicinity is becoming increasingly more frequent,” Mr Grossi said in a statement on the IAEA website.

“This is completely unacceptable, and it runs counter to the safety pillars and concrete principles that have been accepted unanimously.”

Power to Enerhodar, a few kilometres from the plant, had been cut for 16 hours, he said. Neither of the attacks, which occurred on June 19 and 21, had any impact on the power lines that the nuclear plant uses to keep operating.

The Zaporizhzhia plant’s Russia-installed management said some “infrastructure facilities”, including the transport department and print shop, experienced disruptions, but that nuclear safety measures remained fully operational.

Ukrainian officials have made no comment on the incidents and Reuters could not independently confirm the reports.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the attacks exposed Ukraine’s disregard for nuclear safety.

Russian troops seized the Zaporizhzhia plant in the early days of

the February 2022 invasion,

and Moscow and Kyiv have since regularly accused each other of endangering safety around the facility. It produces no electricity at the moment.

The IAEA maintains inspectors at the station.

Russia launched mass attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure in the first winter of the conflict and resumed a long series of attacks in March.

Kyiv said the renewed attacks have knocked out half of its energy-generating capacity. REUTERS