IAEA inspects the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after Russia claims of attack on plant

Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) conducted an inspection at the Zaporizhzhia NPP (ZNPP) after Russiaʼs claims of an attack on the plant on May 30.

This was reported by IAEA in X.

The Director General of the Russian state atomic energy corporation “Rosatom” Alexei Likhachev said that on the afternoon of May 30, Ukrainian troops struck the engine room of Unit No. 6 of the Zaporizhzhia NPP with a drone — a few meters from the reactor.

Then the Ukrainian Armed Forcesʼ Group of Forces "South" stated that they did not strike the power unit. Among the evidence: Ukraine does not have fiber-optic drones that can reach the station and carry 5-6 kg of explosives.

On the morning of May 31, the IAEA experts reported that during the inspection they found that the outer part of the turbine housing and the metal hatch were damaged, but the radiation level was normal.

The team also found several pieces of debris and charred remains of an optical fiber cable. IAEA did not say who owned the drone.

What is known about the occupation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP?

The Russians occupied the Zaporizhzhia NPP in early March 2022 and have been operating under their control since then. An IAEA mission has been at the station since September 2022. Ukraine insists on the withdrawal of the Russian occupiers from the station. Russia refuses to create a demilitarized zone at the Zaporizhzhia NPP.

The Zaporizhzhia NPP has repeatedly lost external power supply due to hostilities near the plant. In such cases, it switched to backup diesel generators. The longest was the tenth blackout, which occurred due to Russian shelling and lasted a month — from September 23 to October 23, 2025.

The issue of the Zaporizhzhia NPP remains among the key ones in the trilateral talks between Ukraine, the United States and Russia. In January, Politico, citing sources, wrote that Russia had proposed during the talks to share the electricity from the Zaporizhzhia NPP between Ukraine and the Russian Federation.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has already stated that such an idea looks unrealistic. Instead, he proposed that the Zaporizhzhia NPP be operated by Ukraine and the United States.

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