IAEA says drone detonated near Ukraine nuclear plant

A drone was downed and detonated about 800 metres (875 yards) from the perimetre of Ukraine's South Ukraine nuclear power plant overnight, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement on Thursday (26 September).

The agency, in a statement issued by its Director General, Rafael Grossi, said its team of monitors at the site was informed that 22 drones were observed in the plant's monitoring zone late on Wednesday and early on Thursday.

Some drones had flown as close as 500 metres.

Grossi said monitors had heard gunfire and explosions at about 1 a.m. and later visited the site where the drone came down and observed a crater about four metres square.

"Nearby metal structures had been hit by shrapnel and the windows of vehicles close to the impact area were shattered," Grossi wrote. A power line also came down, though it was not connected to the plant.

There were no reports of casualties, the IAEA said.

"Once again, drones are flying far too close to nuclear power plants, putting nuclear safety at risk," he wrote. "Fortunately, last night's incident did not result in any damage to the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant itself. Next time we may not be so lucky."

Ukraine has four nuclear power plants and has reported occasional incidents related to the 3-1/2 year war at its South Ukraine, Rivne and Khmelnitskyi stations.

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