Russia says Ukrainian drone hit turbine hall at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

Elena Teslova

A Ukrainian combat drone struck the turbine hall building at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, causing an explosion and damaging the structure, Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom said on Saturday.

The strike created a hole in the wall of the turbine hall, although the plant’s main equipment was not damaged, Rosatom said in a statement.

The drone was guided via a fiber-optic control system, the statement stressed, ruling out the possibility of an accidental strike.

Commenting on the incident, Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev described the incident as “the first deliberate attack on key nuclear power plant equipment resulting in structural damage to a turbine hall building.”

“It is noteworthy that the drone was fiber-optic controlled. This completely rules out the possibility of an accidental hit,” he said.

He added: “The Ukrainian armed forces time and again cross not just red lines, but the boundaries of common sense. What to expect next? Strikes directly on the turbine? The reactor hall? The reactor and safety systems?”

Likhachev warned that repeated attacks on nuclear facilities were bringing the region closer to a potentially serious nuclear incident.

“Today we are one step closer to an incident that could highly likely affect even those living far beyond the borders of Russia and Ukraine, who still believe they are completely safe,” Likhachev said.