A Ukrainian drone struck a Russian nuclear power plant, a Russian energy company has claimed. In a statement, Rosenergoatom claimed the drone was "suppressed by technical means" before it crashed into a cooling tower at the Novovoronezh plant in the Voronezh region, bordering Ukraine.
The company said:" There was no damage or injuries; however, the detonation left a dark mark on the cooling tower. The safe operation of the nuclear power plant is ensured." Rosenergoatom described the incident as "another act of aggression by the Ukrainian armed forces against Russian nuclear power plants". It said radiation levels were normal. The news comes as Ukraine accused Russia of deliberately attempting to cause radiation leaks with its attacks on civilian infrastructure.
The drone strike adds to concerns raised more than a week ago when the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine became disconnected from the power grid following attacks that each side has blamed on the other.
Neither Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia is currently operational, but they require a constant power supply to run crucial cooling systems for spent fuel rods in order to avoid a potential nuclear incident.
A blackout also could blind radiation monitoring systems installed to boost security at Chernobyl and operated by the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency.
“Russia is deliberately creating the threat of radiation incidents,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late Wednesday, criticising the UN nuclear watchdog and its chief, Rafael Mariano Grossi, for what he described as weak responses to the danger.
“Every day of Russia’s war, every strike on our energy facilities, including those connected to nuclear safety, is a global threat,” he said. “Weak and half-measures will not work. Strong action is needed.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected Ukrainian claims that Russia has been shelling the power lines around the Zaporizhzhia plant as “nonsense” and blamed Ukraine for attacking the Moscow-controlled plant, warning that Russia could respond in kind.
