Rosatom chief Alexei Likhachev accused Ukraine of killing a key worker in a drone strike near the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and said another employee was critically wounded. Reuters could not independently verify the claim, and Ukraine did not immediately respond. Russia seized the plant in 2022, and both sides repeatedly accuse each other of endangering its safety.
Rosatom Says Ukrainian Drone Strike Killed Worker Near Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant; Reuters Unable To Verify
Director General of Russia's State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Alexei Likhachev attends a meeting at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, April 29, 2026. Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via REUTERS
MOSCOW, June 18 — The head of Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom accused Ukraine on Thursday of killing a key worker in a drone strike near the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine.
Alexei Likhachev said in a statement that unmanned aerial vehicles struck the nearby city of Enerhodar on Wednesday, where many plant employees live. He said one worker from the plant's central repair workshop was killed and a second was seriously wounded, with doctors fighting to save their life.
"This is the plant's core personnel, on whom the safe operation of equipment at Europe's largest nuclear power plant directly depends," Likhachev said, according to the statement. In April, Moscow said another Zaporizhzhia worker had been killed in what it described as a Ukrainian drone attack.
Russia took control of the Zaporizhzhia facility, Europe's largest nuclear power station, soon after its forces entered Ukraine in 2022. Both Kyiv and Moscow frequently accuse each other of actions that jeopardize the plant's safety.
There was no immediate response from Ukraine, and Reuters was unable to independently verify Rosatom's account.
Context: The Zaporizhzhia plant remains a focal point of international concern because of the potential risks associated with military activity near a major nuclear installation. Independent verification of battlefield claims is often difficult amid active conflict.
(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Andrew Osborn)
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