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Just 800 Meters Away: Drone Strike Sparks Nuclear Safety Fears in South Ukraine, IAEA Warns
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![Photo of Roman Kohanets]( "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
-111f0e5095e02c02446ffed57bfb0ab1.jpeg "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said a drone was downed and detonated overnight approximately 800 meters from the perimeter of the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant in Mykolaiv region, with no damage to the facility itself or reported casualties, according to The Guardian on September 26.
The incident occurred around 01:00 local time after IAEA monitors, stationed at the site, heard gunfire and explosions. A crater of about four square meters and roughly one meter deep was later observed at the impact point, where nearby metal structures were hit by shrapnel, vehicle windows were shattered, and a regional 150-kV power line—unconnected to the plant—came down.
“Once again drones are flying far too close to nuclear power plants, putting nuclear safety at risk,” IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said, adding: “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.”
IAEA’s summary noted the detonation occurred roughly 800 meters from the site perimeter near South Ukraine NPP (also known as Pivdennoukrainsk), and reiterated that the power line affected was not connected to the plant, leaving nuclear safety functions and on-site radiation levels unaffected.
The agency also reported that the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant remained without external power for more than 48 hours, relying on emergency diesel generators to maintain cooling and essential safety systems—described as the longest such outage to date during the war.
Earlier, it was reported that the IAEA confirmed a series of explosions near the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant after its monitors heard gunfire followed by blasts close to the facility.
-24ca8683eb01b729cd8fae98f952003a.jpg "Ukrainian Ratel-S drone equipped with a downed Shahed warhead. (Source: omelyanovi4/Instagram)")
-0158b6b681e3668f470de36aedad9e3c.jpg "Russian Su-24 bomber moments before Ukrainian drone strike, Crimea. (Source: HUR)")
