Drone explodes near South Ukraine NPP at night

The South Ukraine nuclear power plant. Photo: Facebook / South Ukraine Energy Complex

On the night of 25 September, a downed drone exploded about 800 metres from the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant.

This was announced by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, citing the agency's team that is constantly working at the facility.

According to the station, 22 drones were spotted in the monitoring area at night, some of them flying at a distance of about 500 metres. A nearby IAEA team heard gunfire and explosions at around 1am. In the morning, the experts examined the crash site of one of the drones: a crater measuring 4 square metres and about one metre deep had formed.

The explosion damaged metal structures and smashed windows in nearby cars. A 150-kilovolt power line was also damaged, but it was not connected to the station, so its operation was not affected. No one was injured.

«Once again, drones are flying too close to nuclear power plants, endangering nuclear safety. Fortunately, last night's incident did not result in any damage to the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant itself. We may not be so lucky next time. I continue to call on both sides to exercise maximum military restraint around all critical nuclear facilities», said IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.

South Ukraine NPP is one of the three operating nuclear power plants in Ukraine. All three units are currently operating at full capacity.

As a reminder, Zaporizhzhia NPP has been without external power for the second day in a row and has been operating on diesel generators. This is the tenth blackout of the plant during the Russian occupation.