Russia has accused Ukrainian forces of carrying out an attack this morning on the transport workshop of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, located in eastern Ukraine but under Russian control. The incident has caused various material damages, although no radiological risk has been detected so far and Moscow has announced that it will report what happened to the UN nuclear agency.
According to the plant's statement on Saturday morning, the attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces targeted the nuclear complex's transport workshop. As a consequence, three vehicles, several fuel dispensers, and the building's windows were damaged. No casualties have been reported.
This transport workshop had already been hit before, on May 31, when six buses and two Gazelle vehicles were destroyed.
For the moment, the Ukrainian Army has not offered any reaction to this new episode surrounding Europe's largest nuclear power plant, a usual scene of exchanges of fire and mutual accusations between Russia and Ukraine over direct attacks against the facility.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN-dependent agency, has been warning since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine about the serious risk these incidents pose to nuclear safety.
While commenting on this latest attack, the IAEA confirmed this Saturday that the nuclear power plant has been reconnected to the main power grid this very morning, after the nineteenth interruption of supply late on Wednesday due to conflict-related damage.
As on previous occasions, the disconnection forced the plant to resort to emergency diesel generators to ensure the electricity necessary for the cooling of its six reactors, which remain shut down.