UN nuclear watchdog calls for halt to attacks on cities near Zaprodza nuclear power plant

The UN nuclear watchdog on Sunday called for a halt to the attack on the small town of Enehodar near the Russian-occupied Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZAEP).

The call came after two power substations in the region were attacked by drones last week, which was reported by Reuters.

Russian-appointed ZAES officials accused Ukraine of launching two drone attacks, in which one substation was destroyed and another was damaged, disrupting electricity supply to residents for a period of time.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi did not mention Ukraine and said the incidents had no impact on ZAEP’s operations. But he said the attacks must stop.

“Whoever is behind this, it must be stopped. The use of drones against nuclear power plants and their surrounding areas is becoming more and more frequent. This is totally unacceptable and contrary to the unanimously agreed safety pillars and specific principles,” Grossi said in a statement on the IAEA website.

He added that the town of Enerhodar, a few kilometers from the power plant, was without electricity for 16 hours. However, neither the attacks on Wednesday nor Friday had any impact on the power lines used to operate the nuclear power plant.

ZAES management said some “infrastructure” had failed, including in the transport sector, but that nuclear safety measures remained fully functional. Ukrainian officials have not commented on the incidents.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the attack showed Ukraine did not take nuclear safety seriously.

Russian troops seized ZAES on the first day of the invasion in February 2022, and since then Moscow and Kiev have frequently accused each other of threatening security around the plant. It currently does not generate any electricity.

The IAEA has its own inspectors at the power plant.

Russia launched a massive assault on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure during the first winter of the conflict and repeated a series of attacks in March, a new wave of attacks that Kiev said had knocked out half of its power generation capacity.