The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Saturday (August 2) that its team at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) heard explosions and saw smoke coming from a nearby location. The IAEA was informed by the ZNPP that the facility was struck by shelling and drones from 9am, around the same time as the team could hear military activity.
“The auxiliary facility is located 1,200 metres from the ZNPP’s site perimeter and the IAEA team could still see smoke from that direction in the afternoon,” the nuclear watchdog said. It was the latest in a series of incidents in recent weeks and months further highlighting possible dangers to nuclear safety during the military conflict at the ZNPP. “Any attack in the vicinity of a nuclear power plant – regardless of the intended target – poses potential risks also for nuclear safety and must be avoided. Once again, I call for maximum military restraint near nuclear facilities to prevent the continued risk of a nuclear accident,” Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and among the 10 largest in the world. On March 4, 2022, days into the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces seized the nuclear power and the nearly thermal power stations. As of March 12, 2022, the Russian company Rosatom claimed control over the plant.
Since its capture, the plant has not generated power and is mostly shut down.
Although it is currently non-operational, it still requires electrical power to maintain the cooling of the nuclear fuel.
The station has been a frequent site of attacks and tensions between the two countries.
On August 11, 2024, a fire broke out at one of the plant’s cooling towers, leading to mutual accusations between Ukraine and Russia over its cause. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian forces intentionally started the fire to blackmail Kyiv, while Russian-installed officials in the region blamed Ukrainian shelling.
Despite the tensions, both sides confirmed that there was no radiation spike or immediate nuclear danger.