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Rosatom Says Zaporozhye Faced Hundreds of Drone Strikes, Seeks Greater IAEA Role

The Russian state nuclear operator told the IAEA that stepped‑up on‑site monitoring and regular expert rotations are needed to address what it calls mounting attacks that risk a regional nuclear incident.

Overview

  • Rosatom reported roughly 460 Ukrainian drone attacks and about 15–16 artillery strikes on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant and Energodar since mid‑March, and said strikes sharply escalated after the end of April.
  • The company said a drone hit the engine room of power unit No. 6 at the end of May, an incident it described as unprecedented for a reactor building.
  • Rosatom published casualty figures that vary between six and seven killed and about 40–43 injured in strikes on Energodar, citing harm to civilians and local infrastructure.
  • After interdepartmental consultations with the IAEA in Kaliningrad, Rosatom said the sides agreed concrete steps on a permanent IAEA expert presence, regular rotations, and improved information exchange, and that IAEA staff oversaw repairs to the Dneprovskaya transmission line that Ukraine did not energize.
  • Rosatom accused IAEA public reports of understating threats, warned the situation is close to a regional‑scale disaster, and framed the Kaliningrad talks as the first concrete operational steps on ZNPP oversight since 2022.