Kyiv denies Russian claim of attacking Zaporizhzhia reactor
Russia has accused Ukraine of carrying out a drone strike on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest.
Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear company, said a drone struck part of reactor 6 on Saturday, damaging a turbine hall wall but causing no radiation leak.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said it had been informed of the reported strike and was seeking access to inspect the damage directly. It said in its statement that “attacking nuclear sites is like playing with fire”.
Ukraine denied responsibility for the strike, accusing Moscow of spreading “propaganda” and using the occupied plant for “nuclear blackmail”. The Zaporizhzhia facility has repeatedly been at the centre of safety concerns since Russian forces seized it in the early weeks of the war.
Read moreShahana Yasmin31 May 2026 07:32
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Russia’s Rosatom says Ukrainian drone struck Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom said on Saturday that a Ukrainian drone struck the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
There was no damage to key equipment, but the attack left a hole in the wall of a turbine hall, Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev said. He was quoted as saying by Russian state media that the fact that the drone was controlled via fiber optics “completely rules out the possibility of an accidental impact.”
Ukraine did not immediately comment on the incident.
The plant is in an area under Russian control since early in Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and is not in service, but it needs reliable power to cool its six shutdown reactors and spent fuel to avoid any catastrophic nuclear incidents.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly expressed alarm about the nuclear plant, Europe’s biggest.
Watch: Russian drone strikes apartment building in Nato member Romania
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Recap: Putin claims remarks about ending war were based on analysis of Russia’s advances on battlefield
Russian president Vladimir Putin said on Friday his remarks on 9 May about the Ukraine war coming to an end were based on an analysis of Russian advances on the battlefield. Putin, though, refused to give any specific timeline for an end to the war.
He said Western claims that Russia was preparing for war with Europe were lies. He added that Western media should feel ashamed of themselves for their coverage of what Moscow said was a Ukrainian drone attack on a student dormitory in Russian-controlled Luhansk which left 21 people dead.
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Analysis: Putin has adopted a ‘reckless policy’ as Russian drones increasingly enter Nato airspace
As more Russian drones enter Nato airspace, analysis from the Institute of War suggests that president Vladimir Putin has adopted a new “reckless policy” towards the West.
“Increasingly frequent Russian drone incursions into Nato airspace indicate that Russian President Vladimir Putin has adopted a reckless policy that accepts the risk of Russian drones entering Nato airspace as an acceptable consequence of Russia’s strikes in Ukraine.
“Putin now appears to accept the risk of inflicting civilian casualties in Nato states as an acceptable consequence of Russia’s strike campaign.
“Given the restrictions on Romania’s air defense operations, Nato may need to consider negotiating possible air defense agreements with Ukraine and Moldova as a matter of self-defense against Russian drone strikes against Nato countries, regardless of whether the Russian drone incursions are accidental or intentional.”
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