Ukraine war: UN body urges restraint after Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant hit

BBC News:

A new drone attack on Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia power plant has raised the risk of a “major nuclear accident”, the UN’s atomic watchdog has warned.

Russia said Ukraine was behind the attack, which it said injured three people. Ukraine has denied involvement.

The giant Russian-held nuclear plant, with six reactors, is on the frontline of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly warned against such attacks.

IAEA head Rafael Grossi said Sunday’s drone strike was “reckless” and “a major escalation of the nuclear safety and security dangers” facing the plant.

The Zaporizhzhia plant, in southern Ukraine, is the largest in Europe. Russian forces seized it shortly after launching their February 2022 full-scale invasion and have occupied it ever since.

The facility stopped generating power in 2022, but needs a constant supply of electricity to cool one of its reactors which is in a state of “hot conservation”, meaning it is not fully offline.