A drone was downed and detonated about 800 metres (875 yards) from the perimeter of a Ukrainian nuclear power plant, the UN atomic watchdog said on Thursday, with its head warning that “once again drones are flying far too close to nuclear power plants, putting nuclear safety at risk”. The agency said its monitors at the site were informed that 22 drones were observed in the South Ukraine plant’s monitoring zone late on Wednesday and early on Thursday, with some drones flying as close as 500 metres. Monitors heard gunfire and explosions about 1am and later visited the site, near the city of Pivdennoukrainsk, in Mykolaiv region, where the drone came down and saw a crater about 4 sq metres, said a statement from the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi. “Nearby metal structures had been hit by shrapnel and the windows of vehicles close to the impact area were shattered,” he said. “A power line also came down, though it was not connected to the plant … Fortunately, last night’s incident did not result in any damage to the South Ukraine nuclear power plant itself. Next time we may not be so lucky.” There were no reports of casualties.
The IAEA also said the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia station had been without power for more than 48 hours after external power lines supplying the plant came down for the 10th time in the conflict. The lines supply electricity vital to cooling its reactors’ fuel and preventing a meltdown. Emergency diesel generators were in operation.
