IAEA hears explosions and gunfire near Ukrainian NPPs almost daily over past week

Representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) working at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant have heard explosions and periodic gunfire almost daily over the past week. This is announced in the IAEA report.

According to the agency's director general, Rafael Mariano Grossi, the main nuclear facilities in Ukraine are in danger. This is evidenced by frequent air alerts, regular explosions nearby and the presence of enemy drones.

Grossi said that the situation with nuclear safety and security in Ukraine remains unstable.

"Military operations, as before, are being conducted near nuclear facilities, exposing their safety to constant risk," the IAEA director general said.

The agency continues to monitor and assess nuclear safety at five major nuclear facilities in Ukraine, including the russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP. The experts visited the turbine halls of two reactor units, but the russians denied them access to some parts of the premises.

At the South-Ukraine NPP in the Mykolaiv Region, the IAEA team was informed that five drones were detected 2 km from the facility on the night of April 11-12. According to the report, the IAEA experts heard gunshots.

At the Chornobyl NPP, the monitors visited the New Safe Confinement above the Shelter facility: they were also told about the condition of the facility after the UAV hit it in February 2025. Since then, radiation levels have remained normal, the IAEA said.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, 4 km from the South-Ukraine NPP, observers from the IAEA recorded the flight of eight drones on the night of April 9.