A worker at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant was killed and another was seriously injured in a drone strike on the city of Enerhodar, Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom said Thursday, accusing Ukraine of carrying out the attack.
In a statement, Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev said four people were injured in the June 17 strike on Enerhodar, where the plant is located, including two employees of the facility.
"Ukraine switched to the targeted and systematic killing of employees of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Yesterday afternoon, as a result of a drone strike on the nuclear workers' city of Enerhodar, four residents were injured. Two of them are workers of the centralized repair workshop of the nuclear power plant," he said.
"These are the plant's core personnel, on whom the safe operation of the equipment of Europe's largest nuclear power station directly depends. One of them was wounded and doctors are fighting for his life, providing all possible medical care. The second one was killed," he added.
Likhachev accused Ukraine of deliberately targeting plant personnel and said such attacks posed risks to nuclear safety.
"The death of nuclear power plant employees -- those directly responsible for nuclear safety and the stable operation of the facility -- is a double tragedy," he said.
He also claimed attacks linked to the Zaporizhzhia plant had intensified in recent years, evolving from strikes on supporting infrastructure to attacks on energy facilities, equipment and personnel.
According to Likhachev, attacks on workers responsible for operating the facility could have consequences extending beyond Russia and Ukraine.
Ukraine did not immediately comment on the allegations.
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe's largest nuclear facility, has been under Russian control since the early months of the war.
Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly accused each other of endangering the safety of the site, while the International Atomic Energy Agency has called for measures to reduce risks around the plant.
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