Russian-held Zaporizhzhia plant says Ukraine staged nearby drone attack

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(Reuters) – Management at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in eastern Ukraine accused Ukrainian forces on Friday of launching a drone attack on a nearby electricity substation and posing a threat to the plant.

Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe’s largest with six reactors, in the early days of Moscow’s February 2022 invasion and each side has since regularly accused the other of staging attacks that endanger security.

“A drone strike by the Ukrainian armed forces damaged a transformer at the Zarya substation located right next to the perimeter of the Zaporizhzhia station,” the Russian management said in a statement on Telegram.

“This substation contributes to power supplies to the station’s infrastructure. Attacking it creates a potential threat to the nuclear power station’s safety.”

Ukraine’s Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Russian-installed officials in the nearby town of Energodar, where many of the station’s staff live, accused Ukraine of staging drone attacks in June that damaged two substations.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency has stationed monitors permanently at the plant and urged both sides to refrain from all attacks on it.

(Reporting by Ron Popeski; Editing by Alistair Bell)