IAEA: No Ukrainian Drone Attacks on Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant

Refutation of Claims Made by Russia

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has refuted Russian claims that Ukrainian forces attempted a drone (unmanned aerial vehicle) attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, stating that "there was no attack on the nuclear power plant."

In a statement released on the 11th (local time), the IAEA said, "There is information that a drone was intercepted on the 9th near Zaporizhzhia, but this incident is unrelated to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the nearby thermal power plant, or the city near the nuclear power plant."

The IAEA has deployed resident experts to locations including the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to prevent serious safety issues arising from the war in Ukraine. Any variables that could affect nuclear safety are reported to the IAEA promptly.

Currently, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine is under Russian occupation. The Russian military claimed on the 9th that Ukrainian forces attempted to attack the spent nuclear fuel storage facility within the Zaporizhzhia plant using drones but failed as the drones were shot down. Ukraine has completely denied these Russian claims.

The IAEA explained, "Experts did not hear or observe anything near the nuclear power plant during the time when the drone attack was alleged to have occurred," adding, "Air raid alarms sounded nationwide throughout the day on the 9th, but there were no incidents affecting the safety of facilities at other nuclear power plants such as Rivne, South Ukraine, and Khmelnytskyi."

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]