IAEA reports two power plant workers killed in drone attacks in Ukraine
Two employees, one from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) and one from the nearby thermal power plant, have been killed as a result of drone attacks, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported. Another Zaporizhzhia Thermal Power Plant employee was killed by a drone strike on 29 October.
According to the agency, one of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant staff members was killed as a result of a drone attack. Separately, on the same day, a drone killed an employee of the Zaporizhzhia Thermal Power Plant.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi condemned these attacks. He said that they are unacceptable and violate the indispensable pillars of nuclear safety.
Grossi emphasised that all such attacks on nuclear power plant staff must stop immediately. He said that nuclear power plant staff must be able to perform their duties without undue stress and fear for their own lives.
In late October 2026, another employee of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant was killed as a result of a drone attack. He worked as a welder in the centralised repair workshop of the ZNPP.
Earlier, ZMINA reported that during the full-scale war, Russian forces repeatedly struck various energy facilities, and in February 2025 they struck the New Safe Confinement at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, with a drone leaving damage that went right through the structure across 15 square metres. This happened amid Russian missiles and drones flying past other Ukrainian nuclear power plants, creating a threat.
Since the onset of the full-scale war, researchers have identified at least 127 incidents involving risks to nuclear safety.
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