Russia Raises Concerns as Ukraine Intensifies Strikes on Nuclear Sites
(MENAFN) Ukraine has intensified its assaults on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant and has recently expanded its targeting to include other nuclear facilities, according to Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the International Organizations in Vienna. He made the remarks on Wednesday, raising concerns over escalating risks.
“Kiev continues to threaten the safety of the Zaporozhskaya NPP and to strike both the plant and the nearby city of Energodar. Over the past three months, the scale of these attacks has increased dramatically, and in recent weeks they have become almost daily,” Ulyanov stated.
Russian authorities have consistently accused Ukraine of engaging in what they term nuclear terrorism, pointing to repeated drone strikes on the Zaporozhye plant over recent years.
Speaking about a report presented by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi to the agency’s board, Ulyanov called for a strong international response. He urged IAEA member states to hold Ukraine accountable for its actions.
He also alleged that in August, Ukrainian drones struck nuclear power facilities in Russia’s Smolensk and Kursk regions. Ulyanov appealed to the IAEA board to issue “a tough and unambiguous assessment of these reckless actions.”
“The continued silence and refusal to call a spade a spade only emboldens Kiev to commit further crimes,” he warned. “The consequences of such actions could be extremely serious.”
The Zaporozhye nuclear facility, now under Russian control, is staffed by Russian personnel and monitored by IAEA inspectors. However, the UN nuclear watchdog continues to classify the plant as Ukrainian in its official documentation, citing its policy of not recognizing the 2022 referendum in which the region voted to join Russia.
Ulyanov commended Grossi for acknowledging “stress among Zaporozhskaya NPP employees, and not just among staff at Ukrainian facilities,” highlighting that Russian workers and their families endure “constant provocations and threats from Ukraine.”
He also welcomed the IAEA’s increased focus on issues at Ukrainian-controlled plants, saying this shift has brought more balance to its reporting. In his latest briefing, Grossi described the situation at Zaporozhye as “precarious” and warned that four nuclear facilities operated by Ukraine remain “extremely vulnerable.”
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