The head of the Russian nuclear energy giant “Rosatom,” Aleksei Likhachyov, announced on Wednesday that Aleksandr Yakovlev was killed when a “drone of the Ukrainian Armed Forces” hit an official vehicle near this power plant.
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Ukraine has not yet commented on this incident.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, “condemns the report of the incident, which he says is an unacceptable attack on the power plant and its management, posing a serious threat to nuclear safety,” the agency posted late Wednesday on the social network “X.”
“The IAEA calls for an immediate halt to all attacks on nuclear facilities or their access points and on their personnel,” the statement added.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova urged the agency to condemn this “murder.”
A. Likhachyov stated on Rosatom’s Telegram account that A. Yakovlev “dedicated his entire life to nuclear energy and died, essentially, at his combat post.”
According to him, the driver was also killed in the attack.
A. Yakovlev had not been previously mentioned on the power plant’s and Rosatom’s Telegram accounts.
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Usually, the publicly speaking director of the power plant is Yuri Chernychuk, a former chief engineer of this plant, appointed by Moscow.
Russian forces occupied the Zaporizhzhia NPP in March 2022, shortly after Moscow’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine began.
This power plant is the largest in Europe, and its safety has been a constant concern throughout the long conflict.
Both sides regularly accuse each other of strikes on this facility, located in Enerhodar, on the bank of the Dnipro River, where the front line runs.
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