Rosatom says Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant chief engineer, driver killed in Ukrainian drone attack

The chief engineer of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and his driver were killed in what Rosatom described as a Ukrainian drone attack on Wednesday, the head of the Russian state nuclear corporation said.

The drone struck their service vehicle near the plant, Alexey Likhachev said in a statement published by Rosatom on Max, a Russian social media platform.

Likhachev said the drone hit a Toyota Camry carrying Chief Engineer Alexander Yakovlev near the boundary between the plant’s industrial site and the city of Enerhodar.

“The drone struck the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant’s service vehicle. Chief Engineer Alexander Yakovlev and the vehicle’s driver, Dmitry Filippov, were killed,” he said.

Likhachev described the incident as a terrorist attack and called on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to respond.

“We expect the IAEA to provide a prompt, concrete and clear reaction to this tragedy,” he said.

According to Likhachev, Russia’s political leadership has been informed of the incident.

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant said Yakovlev’s death was “an attack on the principle of nuclear facility safety,” stressing that nuclear infrastructure and the people who ensure its safe operation “must always remain outside politics.”

Yakovlev, as chief engineer, was responsible for overseeing the technical operation and safety of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.

Ukraine had not immediately commented on the reported incident.