IAEA experts have documented damage to the turbine building at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has officially confirmed damage to the exterior of the turbine building at the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. According to Russian representatives at the plant, the facility was struck by a drone the day before.
This is stated in the agency’s monitoring mission’s official report, published on social media platform X.
During a visual inspection of the site, a group of international observers discovered damage to a metal hatch located several floors up in the turbine hall building. Additionally, experts found several small pieces of debris and charred remnants of an optical cable directly on the ground. The IAEA noted that the nature of the damage and debris found is fully consistent with the possible consequences of a precision strike by a drone. To further investigate the circumstances of the incident, experts have already submitted an official request to the occupying administration for unimpeded access to the interior of the building adjacent to Power Unit No. 6.
The monitoring process itself was accompanied by serious security risks. During the site inspection, the international team was ordered to take immediate cover due to the sound of drones moving nearby and subsequent small-arms fire aimed at repelling them. At the same time, experts used their own measuring equipment to assess the environmental conditions and confirmed that radiation levels at the nuclear facility currently remain within normal limits.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi called the events of May 30 yet another serious incident that directly threatened the five key principles of global nuclear safety. However, in their official statement, agency representatives traditionally refrained from drawing any conclusions regarding the ownership of the drone that carried out the attack on the Ukrainian nuclear power plant.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine emphasized that Ukraine did not strike the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. According to them, the reports disseminated by the Russian side are part of an information campaign, while Russia itself continues to use the occupied ZNPP as a tool for nuclear blackmail and a military facility.
The Russian invaders’ claims that the Ukrainian military allegedly struck the territory of the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant are yet another cheap information provocation. Ukraine strictly adheres to international law and is not conducting any combat operations on the territory of this civilian nuclear facility.
