The Director General of the Russian state atomic energy corporation “Rosatom” Alexei Likhachov said that Ukrainian troops hit the machine room of Unit No. 6 of the Zaporizhzhia NPP (ZNPP) with a drone during the day, a few meters from the reactor.
His words are quoted by Russian propaganda media.
The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine responded that the IAEA experts who are at the station must verify this information and report on the results of the inspection. To do this, the occupation administration is obliged to provide them with full access to the engine room.
They recalled that the Russian occupiers had repeatedly carried out provocations at ZNPP, trying to blame Ukraine, and added that there were currently no changes in the radiation background.
The Ukrainian Armed Forcesʼ Group of Forces "South" also 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.
In addition, the Russians have set up a multi-level smoke screen around the station, and the drone would not have been able to fly through it unnoticed.
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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