1 killed, 15 injured in drone explosion at bus stop used by Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant workers, IAEA says

A drone explosion at a bus stop used by staff of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) killed one person and injured 15 others at around 6 a.m. local time on Aug. 18, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on X.

The Russian-installed administration at the plant, which has been under Russian occupation since March 2022, told the IAEA that 16 staff members and subcontractors were injured in the blast.

The IAEA, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, also said on X that the plant's director described the incident as "the worst event the plant has faced."

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, who last visited the ZNPP on Sept. 4, 2024, called on "military commanders responsible for these actions, as well as those targeting nuclear power plants or their staff, to put an immediate stop to these unacceptable actions."

The IAEA did not specify whether the attack was carried out by Russian or Ukrainian forces, similar to an incident on June 4, when the Zaporizhzhia Thermal Power Plant, whose switchyard helps transmit electricity to the ZNPP, came under a "heavy attack," according to the agency.

Russia blamed Ukrainian drones for the June 4 strike. Ukraine's Southern Defense Forces rejected the claim, saying it was "manipulation and an attempt to influence the IAEA," and that "the only source of risks to nuclear and radiation safety at the ZNPP is the presence of Russian troops."

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is Europe's largest nuclear power plant and among the 10 largest in the world. Ukraine has repeatedly warned that Russia's occupation of the plant poses one of the greatest threats to nuclear safety — not just in Ukraine, but worldwide.

In May, the IAEA also reported a major increase in drone activity near several Ukrainian nuclear power plant sites, with more than 160 unmanned aerial vehicles recorded nearby on May 13-14.