The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has issued a statement after an employee was killed in a drone strike at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. The victim was a welder at the plant’s centralized repair workshop.
Director General of the IAEA Rafael Grossi said any attack on nuclear plant staff is completely unacceptable. He added that it violates the Seven Indispensable Pillars for Nuclear Safety and Security during an armed conflict.
Mr Grossi again called for maximum military restraint to help prevent the risk of a nuclear accident during the conflict.
The IAEA did not say who carried out the attack, but the strike comes just days after Russia accused Ukraine of intensifying attacks on the power plant and the nearby city of Enerhodar.
Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency news outlet reported that Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova criticised international organizations, particularly the IAEA, for what she described as a restrained response to Kyiv’s “provocative actions.”
“We are compelled to note that international bodies, first and foremost the IAEA, have responded with great restraint to Kyiv’s provocative actions,” she said.
Ms Zakharova also accused them of failing to explicitly identify Ukraine as responsible.
She claimed that Ukrainian forces had targeted civilian facilities earlier in the week.
“Unable to strike the ZNPP directly, the Kyiv regime continues its futile attempts to destabilize the plant’s operations by intimidating its personnel,” she said.
Ms Zakharova claimed Kyiv sought to increase casualties and create a radiation-contaminated zone in the Zaporizhzhia region.
