Ukraine dropped an explosive device on the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant

The Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine, which is controlled by the Russian Federation, was attacked today by Ukraine, the Russian plant management said in a statement.

That “The explosive device was dropped in the area of ​​the fence where diesel fuel tanks are located,” Nuclear power plant management said, adding that International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) observers at the plant had been informed of the attack.

“The Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to attack the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant and the city of Energodar. Shelling of the plant’s critical infrastructure was recorded. A non-sheathed explosive device was dropped into the fence area behind which tanks with diesel fuel are located. If they hit the tanks, this could lead to dire consequences,” – said in the ZNPP telegram channel.

The published video shows that a small crater has formed at the site of the explosion, a few meters from the fence behind which there are tanks with diesel fuel. The arrival site was shown to IAEA inspectors.

“Fortunately, neither the equipment nor the personnel were damaged by this arrival. Today we brought experts to the place of arrival, they were able to see it with their own eyes and recorded it with photographs. We asked the experts to notify the agency that this fact took place,” – said director of Zaporizhzhya NPP Yuri Chernichuk.

The last strikes directly on the territory of the Zaporizhia NPP were recorded in November 2022. The Zaporizhia NPP also clarified that a rotation of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had recently taken place at the station. Earlier, Russia’s permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, said that Ukraine has begun to more often make attempts to attack nuclear power plants on Russian territory, for example, in Kursk.

Russia has rejected a call from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to immediately return the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant to Ukrainian control. “We consider any resolutions, as well as statements by officials and international organizations calling for the “return” of the ZNPP to Ukraine or the establishment of international control over it, as an attempt to encroach on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Russia,” – says a message from the Russian Foreign Ministry published on Wednesday, March 13 on its website.

The message also states that Russia will continue to “strengthen the protection of the Zaporizhia NPP and the city of Energodar in order to prevent Ukraine from violating it.”

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