Kyiv “rejects unfounded accusations by the Russian Federation regarding the alleged involvement of Ukraine in the death of a person caused by a drone strike near the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant,” stated the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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The head of the United Nations (UN) atomic energy agency earlier condemned the death of the chief engineer of the Russian-occupied Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia NPP during a drone strike, for which Moscow blamed Kyiv.
The head of the Russian nuclear energy giant “Rosatom,” Aleksey Likhachyov, reported on Wednesday that Alexander Yakovlev died when a “drone of the Ukrainian armed forces” hit a service vehicle near this power plant.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, “condemns the report of the incident, which he calls 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 cessation of 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.”
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According to him, the driver also died in the attack.
Previously, A. Yakovlev was not mentioned on the power plant’s and Rosatom’s Telegram accounts.
Usually, the Moscow-appointed plant director Yuriy Chernyshuk, the former chief engineer of this plant, speaks publicly.
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 Dnipro River bank, where the front line runs.
