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Military Activity Near Nuclear Power Facility in Ukraine Threatens Safety, Says IAEA

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Ongoing military strikes near the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine have damaged local electrical grids and cut municipal water supplies, severely straining staff working to maintain nuclear safety, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency update on Thursday.

Recent strikes targeting local electrical infrastructure have disrupted municipal water supplies to both the city and the facility, according to the IAEA.

Although backup groundwater wells continue to supply the water necessary for reactor cooling and essential safety functions, the loss of basic utilities underscores the escalating vulnerabilities faced by the workforce, it said.

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi noted that reliable access to essential services is vital for staff well-being and operational continuity, reiterating the importance of the agency's seven indispensable pillars for nuclear safety during armed conflict.

Compounding these operational pressures, the on-site IAEA monitoring team has faced restricted mobility, being repeatedly denied access to the off-site emergency operations center due to ongoing security concerns.

These challenges follow the confirmation that the ZNPP chief engineer was killed in a localized drone strike, prompting renewed international warnings that nuclear plant personnel must never be targeted.

Meanwhile, auxiliary nuclear sites across Ukraine remain on edge, with the IAEA team at Chornobyl reporting frequent air raid alarms and nearby drone activity, highlighting pervasive risks across the regional energy infrastructure.

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