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Russia says Ukrainian drone kills chief engineer at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
Rosatom said the strike killed chief engineer Alexander Yakovlev and the driver, as the U.N. nuclear watchdog condemned the attack.
On Wednesday, a Ukrainian drone struck a service car between the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and Enerhodar, killing chief engineer Alexander Yakovlev and the driver, Rosatom said.
Russian forces seized the facility during the 2022 invasion, and since then both sides have regularly accused the other of military actions endangering nuclear safety at Europe's largest reactor complex.
Rosatom head Alexei Likhachev said attacks on the area killed 13 people and injured 48 over the past 2 1/2 months, with Enerhodar remaining a frequent target for strikes.
International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi condemned the incident as representing "an unacceptable attack on the plant and its management, seriously threatening nuclear safety." Ukraine offered no immediate comment.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova labeled the killing a "crime of the Kyiv regime," demanding international condemnation, while the Kremlin framed the strikes as "terror" actions against infrastructure.
The deceased was in the Myrotvorets [Mirotvorets] and was involved in nuclear blackmail. The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has rejected Russian accusations of Ukraine's alleged involvement in the death of collaborator Alexander Yakovlev, who worked as a "chief engineer" at the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing a statement from the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Rosatom. The Rus…