Ukrainian drones injured eight workers from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant while they were at a nearby electrical substation, Russia’s Rosatom nuclear power company said on Wednesday.
The site of the substation is about 2.5 miles from the ZNPP, which has come under frequent Ukrainian attacks since it was captured by Russian forces in February 2022 during the first days of the invasion.
“Ukrainian armed forces attacked the ‘Raduga’ substation, where at the time staff from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant were working,” Rosatom wrote on Telegram.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) condemned the attack. It said that its experts based at the ZNPP saw “thick smoke and heard explosions coming from near the plant’s 750 kilovolt (kV) switchyard.”
The IAEA said that as a result of the attack, the substation was out of service, but the ZNPP was still receiving the electricity it needed “to cool its six reactors in cold shutdown and for other essential nuclear safety and security functions.”
IAEA Director Rafael Grossi said, “It is extremely concerning that these drone attacks are continuing, despite the very clear dangers they present to people in Enerhodar as well as to safety at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. They must stop, immediately.”
The ZNPP is located in the town of Enerhodar on the south bank of the Dnieper River. Ukraine controls the territory on the northern bank of the river and has launched several failed attempts to retake the ZNPP.
A report from The Times revealed that the US backed one of the attempts in October 2022 when 600 Ukrainian commandos tried to cross the river. The US supported the raid by providing targeting data so Ukraine could use its US-provided HIMARS rocket systems, which hit Russian positions on the southern bank of the river near the ZNPP.
