The Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Sunday that a drone had targeted its external radiation control laboratory.
There were no reported injuries and it was not yet known if the strike damaged the lab, which is located outside the nuclear power plant’s perimeter, according to the IAEA.
An IAEA team at the site has requested access to the lab, director general Rafael Grossi said, reiterating that any attacks near nuclear sites can pose nuclear safety risks.
Russian authorities also said Ukraine had attacked Primorsk port on the Baltic Sea, a key oil export hub, causing a fire that local authorities said was quickly extinguished.
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Air defences downed more than 60 Ukrainian drones in the region, with the port the key target, Leningrad regional governor Alexander Drozdenko said in a Telegram post on Sunday. He said the consequences of the fire had been eliminated, without indicating the extent of any damage.
Primorsk is a vital cog in Russia’s oil industry, having typically exported well over one million barrels of crude oil and diesel daily before a series of attacks by Ukraine this year as part of Kyiv’s broader campaign against ports and refineries. The port temporarily suspended tanker loadings on March 23rd following a drone assault.
Ukraine is intensifying strikes on Russian energy infrastructure in an effort to curb the Kremlin’s revenues amid higher oil prices linked to the Iran conflict. Operations at the Black Sea Tuapse port have been intermittently disrupted after repeated attacks over about two weeks.
Separately, two tankers from Russia’s so-called shadow fleet were struck near the entrance to the port of Novorossiysk on the Black Sea, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a post on X on Sunday. The vessels were used to transport oil and are no longer operational, he said.
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Russia said it faced 334 drone attacks in total overnight, including near Moscow. A fire broke out at a factory during a strike involving 14 Ukrainian drones in the Voronezh region in Russia’s south, regional governor Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.
Ukraine’s armed forces said its defences downed 249 out of 268 Russian drones and also recorded a ballistic missile strike.
A drone flying in Russia’s Leningrad region violated airspace in nearby Finland overnight, according to a statement from the Finnish defence forces. Estonia also reported a brief drone incursion into its airspace. – Bloomberg
