Russia says Ukraine hit 2 facilities at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

MOSCOW: In response to Ukrainian drone attacks on two facilities at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Rosatom's director general, Alexei Likhachev, stated that there is no risk to nuclear safety. The targeted locations were a laboratory building and a radioactive waste processing plant. Likhachev informed that a food delivery driver lost his life in the drone attack.

Ukraine has yet to address the incident. On Saturday, plant management had reported that Ukrainian shelling had damaged external power supply equipment, with backup generators now supplying electricity. The plant, Europe's largest with six reactors, no longer generates electricity but requires power from two external links to maintain nuclear fuel coolness.

Russia took control of the plant during the early weeks of the war that commenced in February 2022 when Moscow invaded Ukraine. Since then, both Russia and Ukraine have consistently blamed each other for actions that threaten nuclear safety. The International Atomic Energy Agency, a UN nuclear watchdog, has consistently sought a ceasefire around the plant to facilitate necessary repairs to the connections to the main power grid.

Three UN monitors are present at the Zaporizhzhia plant, along with three others in Ukraine. The Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, criticized the West for enabling Ukrainian attacks by not publicly condemning them. She argued that Kyiv's increased shelling of the Zaporizhzhia plant has been possible due to the absence of a proper response from Western countries, which inadvertently facilitates new attacks.

Zakharova emphasized that the stance of Western countries on nuclear and physical safety in international forums reveals the real significance of their declarations regarding nuclear and physical safety.