IAEA chief warns of further drone flights over Zaporizhia nuclear power plant

Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (International Atomic Agency – IAEA), has strongly condemned military drone flights over the Ukrainian nuclear power plant (NPP) in Zaporizhia during the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. This is according to a statement issued by the IAEA on Wednesday. Grossi called for an immediate cessation of flights after a drone was hit near the nuclear power plant.

The incident occurred on Wednesday morning. The IAEA team heard shots shortly before 10 a.m. (local time). Staff at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant then informed the IAEA team that a drone had hit the roof of the training center, which is located just outside the nuclear power plant site. It is unclear whether the enemy drone was aimed directly at the building, or whether the drone fell on the building as a result of being shot down. The damage was not extensive and there were no casualties.

“These reported drone incidents are very worrying as they could pose a direct threat to nuclear security. To put it simply, there are too many drones flying near nuclear facilities, not just near the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant. This must stop immediately,” said Director General Grossi.

According to the IAEA, this was the third attack this year on the training center with a drone. In January 2025, there was already a reported drone attack on the training center in Zaporizhia. In April, a downed drone crashed near the training center.

Several Ukrainian nuclear facilities affected

Other nuclear facilities have also been repeatedly hit by drone attacks in the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. In February, a drone damaged the New Safe Confinement (NSC) of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine. The NSC had been built after reactor unit 4 of the nuclear power plant collapsed in 1986, releasing radioactivity. The NSC was intended to prevent the further release of radioactivity and protect against external influences.

According to the IAEA, drones have also been regularly observed at the active nuclear power plants Khmelnytskyi, Rivne and nuclear facilities in southern Ukraine. On Friday, drones were sighted at a distance of around two kilometers at a nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine. The IAEA team was on-site and noticed anti-aircraft fire. Drones had also flown into the Chernobyl exclusion zone on Friday.

(olb)