One dead at Europe's biggest nuclear power plant after drone attack

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has issued an urgent warning following a fatal attack at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine.

Russia's State Atomic Energy Corporation reported that a driver was killed in a drone strike during an operation it claims was conducted by Ukrainian Armed Forces, reports the Mirror . The Rosatom corporation confirmed that a worker at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant lost their life this morning. The Russian agency described the strike as a "great tragedy" and warned that attacks on the nuclear facility "pose a threat not only to people but also to security as a whole".

Meanwhile, the IAEA's Director General released a statement today declaring that strikes on or near nuclear power plants (NPPs) can jeopardise 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."

In a separate statement , Russian agency Rosatom, which has controlled the facility since it was captured by Russian forces, said: "A Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant employee has been killed in a strike by the Ukrainian Armed Forces

"Today, a driver was killed as a result of a strike by a Ukrainian Armed Forces drone on the premises of the transport workshop at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant."

Plant bosses described the man's death as "a terrible and irreplaceable loss," adding that "employees of the nuclear industry must not be targeted." They went on to say: "Any attacks on the Zaporizhzhia NPP pose a threat not only to people but also to security as a whole. It is a blow to life and to the future."

Russian forces seized Zaporizhzhia, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, on March 4 2022.

In a speech yesterday marking the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine, the country's Ambassador to the UN Andrii Melnyk demanded that Russian forces "finally get the hell out of the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant".

Mr Melnyk declared that the Zaporizhzhia plant "remains under occupation to this very day as a hostage, terrorizing not only Ukraine but the entire international community."

Urging sanctions against Russia's nuclear energy sector, he stated: "This nuclear blackmail, this nuclear nightmare must end. Russia has to return the plant to Ukraine immediately and unconditionally and ensure its safety in accordance with IAEA standards."