Russia Criticizes IAEA Response to Claimed Ukrainian Strikes on Nuclear Facility

(MENAFN) Russian officials have called on the International Atomic Energy Agency to take stronger action following reported Ukrainian attacks on Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), as well as the nearby city of Energodar.

According to Rosatom chief Aleksey Likhachev, he held what was described as an “extraordinary unscheduled” telephone conversation with senior representatives of the IAEA and Director General Rafael Grossi on Monday. The discussion focused on what Russia views as an “inadequacy” in the agency’s response after a Ukrainian fiber-optic-guided drone reportedly struck the machine hall of unit six at the plant, damaging the structure on Saturday.

Likhachev characterized the incident as the “first targeted attack on an operating nuclear power unit in human history,” and said Moscow expects the IAEA to issue a clear assessment, including identification of those responsible and an explanation of the motivations behind the strikes.

The IAEA, which maintains a monitoring presence at the facility, acknowledged damage “consistent with the impact of a drone,” but did not assign responsibility for the incident. Director General Rafael Grossi described it as “a serious incident that endangered key nuclear safety principles.”

Likhachev criticized what he described as the international watchdog’s muted reaction, arguing that “The silence, absence of assessments and personification of risks is essentially a green light for further escalation.”

He further warned that nuclear incidents carry global implications, stating that “Radiation knows no borders and does not recognize passports. In this sense, any nuclear incident poses a threat to a number of countries and this threat will last for many years.”

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