Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant suffered serious damage as a result of drone strike

On Sunday evening, August 11, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) attacked the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), the Governor of the Zaporizhzhya Region, Yevgeny Balitsky said.

A fire broke out at the cooling systems facility as a result of the attack. Presumably, the drone that attacked the ZNPP was launched from the Kyiv-controlled city of Nikopol in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

The Director of Communications of the nuclear power plant, Yevgenia Yashina, clarified that all six units of the plant were in a state of "cold shutdown". No one was injured in the area of ​​the cooling tower, she added.

The nuclear power plant had not suffered such serious damage before.

"Let me remind you that drones fly over the territory of the station and the city every day," Yashina said.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that the department had been notified of the attack. The organization said that their experts personally heard the sounds of explosions and saw smoke rising over the Zaporizhzhya NPP.

Russia accused Ukraine of nuclear terrorism

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Ukraine of nuclear terrorism after the attack on the Zaporizhzhya NPP.

In turn, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky published footage of the fire, noting that radiation levels were normal. He also added that "a return to normality and complete safety" could only be possible if Zaporizhzhya NPP were controlled by Kyiv.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi said that he did not see any threats to the nuclear safety of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant. Grossi did not mention who exactly was responsible for the attack.