Russia could spark a new nuclear accident in Ukraine 40 years on from the Chernobyl disaster of 1986, experts have warned. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has issued an urgent alert following a fatal incident at the Russian occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation said a transport worker was killed in a drone strike at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which it claims was carried out by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Rosatom, a Russian state nuclear agency described the strike as a “great tragedy,” warning that attacks on the facility endanger both human lives and overall security. Issuing a stark warning the IAEA’s Director General said in a statement today that strikes on or near nuclear power plants (NPPs) can endanger nuclear safety and “must not take place”.
The IAEA statement said: “IAEA has been informed by the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant that a drone strike this morning killed a driver at its transport workshop in the vicinity of the plant site.
“Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi reiterates that strikes on or near NPPs can endanger nuclear safety and must not take place. The IAEA’s team on the site will look into the incident and continue to monitor the situation.”
Zaporizhzhia, which is currently in cold shutdown, has become a point of mutual accusation, with both Russia and Ukraine blaming each other for risking a potential nuclear catastrophe.
The plant suffered its 15th power outage since it came under occupation in 2022, according to RBC-Ukraine, highlighting persistent concerns over the fragility of its radiation safety conditions.
As Ukraine marks 40 years since the Chernobyl disaster, President Zelensky described such Russian actions as “nuclear terrorism.”
In a speech yesterday to mark the the 40th anniversary of the nuclear disaster at the Chernobyl plant in Ukraine, the country’s Ambassador to the UN Andrii Melnyk called for Russian forces to “finally get the hell out of the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant”.
The ongoing war has taken a heavy toll on the site, after the protective dome over the reactor that exploded in Ukraine’s Chornobyl in 1986 was reportedly damaged in an alleged Russian strike last February.
Although repair work worth €500 million had been underway to restore the New Safe Confinement (NSC), the facility has continued to suffer significant disruption due to the conflict.
“Missiles from the Russians still being fired across Chernobyl,” Shaun Burnie, a senior nuclear specialist for Greenpeace Ukraine, said.
“Here we are 40 years on and Russia is still conducting effectively a nuclear war against the people of Ukraine and Europe”, he added.
Russia has previously denied targeting Chernobyl. Russia’s army captured the plant on the first day of its 2022 full-scale invasion Ukraine, before withdrawing a few weeks later.
