On October 7, Russian state-owned nuclear power company Rosenergoatom said that a Ukrainian armed drone attacked the Novovoronezh nuclear power plant invoronezh province, western Russia. The UAV was pressured by technical measures before crashing into one of the plant's cooling towers and detonating.
The Rosenergoatom said the blast did not cause significant damage to infrastructure or casualties. There is only a small black spot on the surface of the cooling tower, the radiation level in the area is still normal and the plants operations are maintained safely, the company emphasized.
Rosenergoatom said the move was part of a series of "assisted acts" by Ukraine against nuclear facilities in Russia. Moscow has previously accused Kiev of conducting UAV strikes on nuclear power plants in the provinces of Kursk and Smolensk, also in the western region. Ukrainian authorities have not responded to the latest allegations.
Meanwhile, Kiev has repeatedly accused Russia of creating a risk of radioactive leakage at nuclear power plants located in Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky recently accused Russia of staging the attack that caused power outages at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, raising concerns about nuclear safety.
Tensions around nuclear facilities continue to escalate as both Russia and Ukraine blame each other for the strikes that caused power outages at Zaporizhzhia - Europe's largest nuclear facility. The power outage has forced the plant to use an emergency power generation system to cool the reactors, raising warnings about the risk of serious incidents.
International nuclear energy agency (IAEA) Director Rafael Grossi confirmed that the Zaporizhzhia plant has been without power for nearly two weeks, the longest interruption since the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out. He called on both sides to ensure nuclear safety and avoid actions that could lead to disaster.
