Drone attacks Zaporizhia NPP training centre third time this year – IAEA

Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) told the team of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) based at the Plant that the drone hit the roof of the training centre located just outside the ZNPP site perimeter on May 21, according to an update on the situation in Ukraine on the IAEA website late on Wednesday.

The drone hit the roof, without causing any casualties or major damage. It was not immediately known whether the drone had directly struck the building or whether it crashed on the structure after being shot down.

The IAEA said that it was the third time this year that the training centre was reportedly targeted by such an unmanned aerial vehicle.

According to the update, the IAEA team requested to visit the training centre, as it was able to do following the previous such incident that occurred in April. However, on this occasion permission has not yet been granted.

"These reported drone incidents are very concerning, as they could pose a direct threat to nuclear safety and security. To put it simply: there are too many drones flying near nuclear sites, not just the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant. It should stop immediately," Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.

The IAEA recalled that in February, a drone severely damaged the New Safe Confinement (NSC) at the Chornobyl plant in northern Ukraine. In mid-April, a drone was reportedly shot down and crashed near the ZNPP's training centre, just over three months after another reported drone attack on the same centre. Ukraine's operating nuclear power plants (NPPs) – Khmelnytsky, Rivne and Pivdennoukrainska (South Ukraine) – also regularly report of drones being detected near the respective sites.