IAEA Receives Shooting Report Near PLTN Zaporizhia Ukraine
JAKARTA - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Tuesday its team at Russia-controlled PLTN Zaporizhia in southeastern Ukraine heard the shooting near the site, observing black smoke billowing from three nearby locations.
A team from the UN nuclear watchdog body was told several artillery shells hit areas outside the PLTN perimeter, about 400 m from diesel fuel storage facilities outside the site, the IAEA said in a statement.
"Although there have been no reports of casualties or equipment damage, this incident once again underscores the persistent danger to nuclear safety and security," said IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi, quoted by Reuters on September 17.
There was no statement from Russian or Ukrainian officials regarding the incident.
Russian troops seized PLTN Zaporizhia, Europe's largest PLTN with six reactors, in the first weeks after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Both sides routinely accuse other parties of taking actions that endanger nuclear safety at the nuclear power plant.
Shooting incidents often occur. PLTN reactors are turned off, but nuclear fuel in them still needs to be cooled.
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Last week, Moscow-appointed governor of the Zaporizhia region, Ukraine, said a Ukrainian drone was detonated on top of the PLTN. The staff had previously reported two attacks over the past week at a training center near the PLTN reactor.
The IAEA, which urges both sides to avoid actions threatening the facility, has placed permanent monitoring at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant and at three other Ukrainian nuclear power plants.