Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has rejected Russia’s unsupported accusations that Kyiv was allegedly involved in the death of a person in a drone strike near the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. The ministry stressed that no independent confirmation of the Russian account or evidence of Ukraine’s involvement had been presented.
The statement followed a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The IAEA said Russia had informed the agency that the ZNPP chief engineer was killed in a drone strike near the plant.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi condemned the reported incident, describing it as an unacceptable attack on the plant and its management that seriously threatens nuclear safety. The agency also called for an immediate end to all attacks on or near nuclear facilities and against their personnel.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said information provided by Russian occupation authorities could not be considered reliable.
The ministry urged the international community to consider the broader context of Russia’s accusations. It pointed to Moscow’s continued efforts to escalate tensions around the ZNPP and the city of Enerhodar, attacks on plant employees, its facilities and civilian infrastructure, as well as attempts to portray Ukraine as the source of danger.
According to the ministry, Moscow is also increasing political pressure on the IAEA Director General in an attempt to shift responsibility for the consequences of the Russian occupation onto Ukraine.
The ministry stressed that the root cause of all threats surrounding the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant remains its illegal seizure, militarisation and use by Russia for military purposes.
The Foreign Ministry recalled that the IAEA Board of Governors and General Conference have repeatedly demanded that Russia remove all military and other unauthorised personnel from the plant, end its illegal control of the facility and return it to the full control of Ukraine’s competent authorities.
However, Moscow continues to station troops, Rosatom representatives and its occupation administration at the ZNPP. It has also not abandoned plans to integrate the plant into Russia’s unified power system.
Ukraine expects the IAEA Secretariat to uphold the principles of objectivity, impartiality and factual accuracy and to avoid actions that could be interpreted as legitimising the Russian occupation administration at the ZNPP.
The Foreign Ministry also called on the international community not to succumb to Russian information manipulation and to increase pressure on Moscow to ensure the demilitarisation and de-occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and Enerhodar.
The ministry stressed that returning the plant to the full control of its legitimate Ukrainian operator, Energoatom, is not a political preference but a requirement of international law and a necessary condition for maintaining nuclear safety in Europe.
