The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFK) denied that a drone they launched hit the Zaporizhzhia NPP, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
Yesterday, Russia announced that the AFK had attacked the nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine that it had occupied at the beginning of the war.
Today, the Ukrainian army denied this claim as "another propaganda move" by Russia. In a statement, the Ukrainian Armed Forces said they abide by international humanitarian law and are aware of the "consequences of any actions targeting nuclear facilities." "There were no active hostilities in the relevant section of the front line during the incident and no weapons were used," the text said. The Ukrainian State Nuclear Regulatory Agency, for its part, said that the damage claimed by Russia must be confirmed by experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at the largest nuclear power plant in Europe as part of a long-term monitoring mission. "Attacking nuclear facilities is like playing with fire," said IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, condemning the attack but not blaming any party for it. The Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, which is located near the front line, was occupied by Russia in March 2022 - just days after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24 of that year, which raised fears of a nuclear accident. It has been regularly bombed, for which Moscow and Kiev have blamed each other, with each side in the conflict claiming that the other is deliberately targeting the plant.