Russia, Ukraine trade blame on attack of nuclear plant

Russia and Ukraine are trading fresh accusations over renewed threats to Europe’s largest nuclear plant that has been caught up in the war. Moscow is alleging Ukraine was behind drone attacks on the facility, which were witnessed by U.N. inspectors, and Kyiv is accusing Russia of disinformation tactics.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday called the drone attacks on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine “a very dangerous provocation.”

“This is a very dangerous practice that has very bad, negative consequences in the future,” Peskov said during his daily conference call with reporters.

The U.N.’s atomic watchdog agency Sunday confirmed drone strikes on one of the plant’s six reactors, which caused one casualty, but did not attribute responsibility to either side.

An official at Energoatom, Ukraine’s atomic energy company, blamed Russia for the attacks, saying they were “a provocation” orchestrated to malign Ukraine. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record.

The plant repeatedly has been caught in the crossfire since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022 and seized the facility shortly after. The International Atomic Energy Agency, a U.N. body, frequently has expressed alarm about the plant amid fears of a potential nuclear catastrophe.

The strikes did not compromise the nuclear facility, which the Kremlin’s forces have been occupying and running in southern Ukraine since shortly after the war began more than two years ago, the IAEA said. The plant’s six reactors have been shut down for months, and IAEA inspectors are stationed at the site. Even with its reactors shut down, the plant still needs power and qualified staff to operate crucial cooling systems and other safety features.

Propaganda and disinformation have been used as weapons by both sides during the conflict, and both sides have accused each other of planning attacks on the plant.

The IAEA team did not observe structural damage to the “systems, structures and components” important to the nuclear safety of the plant, it said. They reported superficial scorching to the top of a reactor dome.

The damage “has not compromised nuclear safety, but this is a serious incident (with the) potential to undermine (the) integrity of the reactor’s containment system,” the IAEA said on X, formerly Twitter.

IAEA chief Rafael Mariano Grossi said the main reactor containment structures took at least three direct hits. “This cannot happen,” he said on X.

DANIEL BEREHULAK/THE NEW YORK TIMES 2023 The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is seen across the Dnieper River, in the Nikopol district of southern Ukraine. A drone attack on the facility has left Russia and Ukraine blaming the other side for the incident, which did not compromise the safety of the plant.