The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reported a drone incident near the South Ukraine nuclear power plant, causing no damage to the plant itself, but putting nuclear safety at risk, the BBC reported, BTA reports.
According to the agency, an unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down about 800 meters from the plant's perimeter on Thursday night. During the monitoring late Wednesday night and Thursday morning, 22 drones were detected, some of which came within half a kilometer of the site.
IAEA staff living in the area heard gunshots and explosions during the night and later visited the site of the downed drone. The monitoring team found damage to metal structures from shrapnel, as well as broken car windows due to the blast wave.
"Drones are once again flying too close to nuclear power plants, putting nuclear safety at risk. Fortunately, the incident last night did not cause any damage to the South Ukrainian NPP, but next time we may not be so lucky. "I continue to call on both sides to exercise maximum restraint around all major nuclear sites," said IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.
The South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant is one of four nuclear power plants in Ukraine. The largest, Zaporizhzhia, is under Russian control in the occupied part of the region and has been the subject of international warnings for months about the risk of a serious accident.
On Friday night, 154 Russian drones were spotted in the skies over Ukraine, according to a morning report from the Ukrainian Air Force. Of these, 128 were shot down or disabled. Twenty-six strike drones struck nine sites, dropping debris.
According to the report, the attack continued this morning.