Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom has demanded the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) take concrete action following Ukrainian strikes on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) and the city of Energodar.
According to Rosatom CEO Aleksey Likhachev, Russia urged the IAEA to provide an adequate response after a Ukrainian fiber-optics-guided drone punctured a hole in the machine hall of ZNPP’s sixth power unit on Saturday. The incident prompted an “extraordinary unscheduled” phone call between Likhachev and IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi held Monday, during which they discussed the “inadequacy” of the watchdog’s reaction.
Likhachev described the attack as “the first targeted attack on an operating nuclear power unit in human history,” stating Russia expects the IAEA to provide “indications of both the perpetrators and the reasons for all these strikes.” The IAEA, which maintains experts at the ZNPP, acknowledged damage “consistent with the impact of a drone” but again avoided blaming Ukraine. Grossi characterized the strike as “a serious incident that endangered key nuclear safety principles.”
Likhachev told journalists after the call: “The silence, absence of assessments and personification of risks is essentially a green light for further escalation.” He added: “Radiation knows no borders and does not recognize passports. In this sense, any nuclear incident poses a threat to a number of countries and this threat will last for many years.”
Europe’s largest nuclear power plant has been subjected to repeated Ukrainian attacks since Russia seized control of the facility in March 2022. Rosatom reported that Kiev has increasingly targeted infrastructure linked to the plant and Energodar, including kindergartens, schools, roads, transport enterprises, and vehicles carrying community supplies.
Likhachev indicated face-to-face contacts with IAEA officials will continue this week, with interdepartmental consultations involving Russia’s Foreign Ministry, Defense Ministry, Rostekhnadzor, Rosatom, and the IAEA scheduled for early July.
