Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant damaged in Ukrainian drone attack, IAEA confirms

A drone strike hit the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant’s external radiation control laboratory on May 3, damaging meteorological monitoring equipment and rendering it non-operational. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed the damage after sending experts to the site on May 4 and 5. No injuries were reported, and radiation levels at the facility remain normal. What happened at Zaporizhzhia ZNPP management first notified the IAEA of the drone strike on May 3, reporting that the external radiation control laboratory, located outside the plant’s main perimeter, had been hit. The ERCL houses equipment used to monitor weather conditions and radiation dispersion patterns around the facility. IAEA experts who visited the site over the following two days confirmed that meteorological monitoring equipment had been damaged and was no longer working. The agency’s Director General, Rafael Grossi, called for maximum restraint from all parties conducting military operations near nuclear facilities. Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear energy corporation, attributed the strike to Ukrainian forces. Ukrainian officials flatly denied responsibility, calling the accusation propaganda. The plant...