Ukrainian drone downed 300m from Europe’s largest nuclear power plant

Kiev “intentionally” carried out the attack as a US-mediated moratorium on energy strikes nears expiry, the facility’s spokeswoman has said

A Ukrainian drone has been “neutralized” approximately 300 meters from Russia’s Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), according to the facility’s management.

The power plant, the largest of its kind in Europe, has been under Russian control since March 2022. It is located in a region that later voted to join Russia in a referendum. The facility is now operated by Rosatom, Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy company. The incident reportedly occurred on Thursday near a building housing a simulator reactor intended for personnel training.

“Clearly, it was intentional,” facility spokeswoman Evgenia Yashina told the TASS news agency. “This further demonstrates that Kiev is unwilling to support any peace initiatives, including those concerning nuclear safety.”

Russian officials described the drone's approach as an “attack,” adding that no damage occurred on the ground due to thanks to the timely intervention of defenses at the facility.

Yashina suggested that Kiev had orchestrated the incident to coincide with the impending expiration of a US-mediated moratorium on strikes against energy infrastructure.

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The 30-day partial ceasefire was announced on March 18, following a phone conversation between President Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart, Donald Trump. While Kiev initially endorsed the agreement, it later expressed dissatisfaction that it did not lead to a full ceasefire. Explaining his reluctance to support such a truce, Putin voiced concerns that Ukraine would simply exploit the lull in hostilities to strengthen its military.

The Russian military has since reported multiple incidents that it characterizes as violations by Kiev of the ban on energy infrastructure strikes. Some of the Ukrainian attacks have targeted key energy facilities, including a compressor station that supplies natural gas to an international pipeline serving customers in Türkiye and southern Europe, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

Both the ZNPP and the nearby city of Energodar have been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian drone and artillery strikes, according to the Defense Ministry. Despite maintaining a permanent monitoring presence at the site since September 2022, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has consistently refrained from identifying which side is responsible for the attacks.

In March, the agency rotated its on-site observers through Russian territory for the first time, after multiple attempts to transport the personnel via Ukrainian-controlled routes were thwarted by military action. Moscow has accused Kiev of attempting to sabotage the UN mission.