IAEA experts spot fifty drones near Ukrainian nuclear power plants

06.02.2026 17:59

Ukrinform

Last week, dozens of drones were spotted in the surveillance zones of the Chornobyl and Rivne nuclear power plants, posing a direct threat to nuclear safety and security.

This was reported by Ukrinform, citing a statement by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.

“Earlier last week, Chornobyl NPP detected 44 drones within their surveillance zone. On Tuesday last week, the IAEA team at Rivne NPP sheltered at their hotel, while two drones were detected within the plant’s surveillance zone. Another six drones were detected at Rivne NPP last week,” the statement reads.

Grossi stressed that the Ukrainian power grid was attacked again last weekend, which had significant consequences for several regions of Ukraine and the operation of nuclear power plants.

According to the statement, power lines connecting Ukraine to neighboring countries were cut, causing a cascade of power outages across the country. As a result, one nuclear power plant unit disconnected from the grid due to voltage fluctuations and automatically shut down. Other units at various nuclear power plants were forced to reduce their output. The Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant site experienced a complete loss of external power supply and relied on emergency diesel generators for approximately one hour.

The IAEA Director General stressed that large-scale repairs are needed to improve the reliability of the power supply to Ukrainian nuclear power plants and strengthen their resilience to future incidents.

“Once again, I call for maximum military restraint, as well as full observance of the Seven Indispensable Pillars to enable these essential repairs to take place,” Grossi emphasized.

Grossi also noted that three IAEA teams are visiting 10 key substations critical to nuclear safety in Ukraine. The two-week mission is assessing the ongoing damage to the grid, analyzing repair work, and identifying steps to strengthen the resilience of the external power supply to nuclear power plants. One team visited Kyiv to discuss further IAEA support in light of the deteriorating state of the grid.

As reported by Ukrinform, earlier, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna Yuriy Vitrenko told the OSCE that Russia continues its energy warfare against Ukraine, launching more than 1,700 drones, 1,380 guided aerial bombs, and 69 missiles in a week, deliberately targeting the energy system and civilian infrastructure.