Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), condemned the killing of a chief engineer from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. The incident, which took place during an attack attributed to Ukrainian forces by Russia, has raised serious safety concerns.
Grossi labeled the incident as “unacceptable” and a direct threat to the plant and its management. He expressed his concerns on X, stating that such actions jeopardize nuclear safety.
The IAEA has called for an immediate halt to any attacks near nuclear facilities and against their personnel. Reports indicate that Russia has accused Ukrainian forces of using a drone to kill Aleksandr Iakovlev, the chief engineer of the plant, which is under Russian control in southern Ukraine.
Since its capture by Russian forces in March 2022, at the onset of the large-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has become a focal point of security worries. The facility, the largest of its kind in Europe, is situated in Energodar along the Dnipro River, which marks the front line in the area.
Both sides have routinely exchanged blame over attacks targeting the plant, which has had a continuous IAEA presence since September 2022. All six reactors at the plant have been offline since 2022, and the UN agency has consistently urged both Moscow and Kyiv to exercise restraint to avoid a potential nuclear disaster.
On Thursday, Ukrainian officials denied the accusations of involvement in the engineer’s death.
