The International Atomic Energy Agency is investigating reports of a suspected drone attack near the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

The plant’s operators reported that vehicles were damaged, the Vienna-based agency stated on Tuesday.

In a report on the incident, the power plant operators stated that six drones were involved in an attack reportedly carried out on Friday.

The incident occurred outside the site’s perimeter about 600 metres from the nearest reactor, the IAEA said in a statement.

Zaporizhzhya is the largest nuclear facility in Europe. The six reactors have been shut down for some time following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago.

The IAEA team in Zaporizhzhya was shown a truck that was allegedly hit by a drone on Friday. However, the team could not identify any damage or drone debris, as they were too far from the vehicles, it was reported.

They did, however, observe burnt grass and other scorched vegetation.

“If this report is confirmed, it would represent a completely unacceptable attack in the proximity of a major nuclear power plant,” IAEA director-general Rafael Grossi said. “Whoever is behind such attacks is playing with fire. It must stop immediately.”

The IAEA boss warned that too many drones are flying dangerously close to Ukrainian nuclear power plants, jeopardising nuclear safety.

In February, a drone severely damaged a structure built to contain the damage to the nuclear reactor from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant meltdown. It is designed to prevent any radioactive release from the reactor unit 4, which was destroyed in the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported then that a Russian drone had damaged the protective structure of the Chernobyl plant, which suffered a catastrophic accident nearly 40 years ago.

No increased radiation levels were reported following the February incident. The Kremlin denied any Russian attack on the Chernobyl plant.

The IAEA has played a central role in protecting and monitoring the condition and safety of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants since the start of Russia’s war on Ukraine in February 2022.

The agency regularly sends expert teams to active reactor sites in Rivne and Khmelnytskyi and has maintained a permanent presence at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant since September 2022.

Russian forces took control of the plant from Ukraine in March 2022.

(dpa/NAN)