Russia Probes Death of Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Chief Engineer in Drone Attack

Russia opens criminal case into death of Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant chief engineer

Moscow, July 16

The committee's official representative, Svetlana Petrenko, said the investigation found that the vehicle carrying Alexander Yakovlev was struck by a Ukrainian drone on Wednesday in Enerhodar, killing the chief engineer and his driver and injuring a third passenger, a plant employee.

Yevgeny Balitsky, governor of the Russia-controlled part of the Zaporizhzhia region, reiterated on Wednesday that Ukraine has been actively trying to stop the operation of the nuclear plant by conducting massive drone strikes on energy facilities, shops, civilian vehicles and social infrastructure, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Zaporizhzhia plant, one of Europe's largest nuclear power facilities, has been under Russian control since March 2022.

Earlier this month, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was informed that the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) lost its off-site power supply for the 21st time since the Ukraine crisis, underscoring the vulnerability of the plant's nuclear safety.

The outage occurred after the plant lost its connection to the 330 kV Ferosplavna-1 transmission line, the IAEA said in its post on X.

According to the IAEA team stationed at the site, military activity triggered the electrical protection systems on transmission lines linking the ZNPP to the Ferosplavna-1 line.

Following the loss of off-site power, the plant's emergency diesel generators automatically started operating to maintain electricity for reactor cooling systems and other essential nuclear safety functions, the IAEA said.

"The latest loss of off-site power again highlights the extreme fragility of nuclear safety at the plant and the need for maximum military restraint to help prevent a nuclear accident," IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said.

— IANS