Russia accuses Ukraine of killing Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant chief engineer in drone strike
Rosatom says Alexander Yakovlev and his driver died when a drone hit their service vehicle near the occupied Zaporizhzhia plant. The IAEA called the attack unacceptable and warned it endangered nuclear safety.
The reported strike
Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom said on 15 July 2026 that the chief engineer of the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Alexander Yakovlev, was killed in what it described as a targeted Ukrainian drone attack. According to Rosatom chief Alexei Likhachev, a drone of the Ukrainian armed forces struck a service vehicle belonging to the plant at the boundary between the facility's grounds and the city of Enerhodar. Yakovlev's driver also died in the incident. Likhachev said Yakovlev had "dedicated his entire life to nuclear energy and died, in a sense, at his combat post."
A drone of the Ukrainian armed forces attacked a service vehicle of the nuclear power plant at the border between the plant site and the city of Enerhodar.
Neither the plant's Telegram channels nor Rosatom's had previously mentioned Yakovlev, several German outlets noted. The claim has not been independently verified.
Ukraine's response
Ukraine denies carrying out attacks on the plant or its personnel. The Ukrainian military stated that its forces strictly adhere to international humanitarian law and are fully aware of the catastrophic consequences of strikes on nuclear facilities. No further official statement from Kyiv was immediately available.
IAEA condemnation
Russia's foreign ministry swiftly demanded a clear response from the International Atomic Energy Agency. Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called on the IAEA and its director general Rafael Grossi by name to issue "a clear and unequivocal statement condemning this murder."
We demand from the relevant international bodies, above all the IAEA, a clear and unequivocal statement condemning this murder.
Grossi later issued a written statement describing the attack as "unacceptable" and warning that it endangered nuclear safety. The IAEA called for a halt to all attacks on or near nuclear facilities and their personnel.
Broader attacks in the region
The reported killing came amid a wave of violence in the Zaporizhzhia region. Regional governor Ivan Fedorov said at least five civilians were killed by Russian strikes on 15 July. Three people died and 15 were injured in the regional capital, Zaporizhzhia city, which lies just over 20 kilometres from the front line. Two men were killed earlier by remote-controlled drone attacks in the frontline town of Orikhiv. Constant Russian drone, bomb and rocket attacks keep the industrial city under near-round-the-clock air raid alerts.
Yevgeny Balitsky, the head of the Russian occupation authorities for the Zaporizhzhia region, reported Ukrainian drone strikes on Enerhodar, the plant's host city. He said the attacks caused a complete power outage, forcing social facilities to run on diesel generators. These claims also remain unconfirmed.
The plant's status
The Zaporizhzhia facility is Europe's largest nuclear power plant, with six reactors and a nominal capacity of 6,000 megawatts. Russian forces seized it in March 2022, and it has remained under their control since. All six reactors have been shut down for safety reasons, though the plant still requires electricity for its cooling and safety systems. Both sides have repeatedly accused each other of risking a nuclear catastrophe through attacks on the facility since Russia's full-scale offensive began in February 2022.
