Russia 'Launching Kamikaze Drones' over Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant: Video

Russian forces have flown so-called "kamikaze" drones over the nuclear reactors of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP), according to Ukrainian intelligence which has posted what it says is video footage of the site.

The largest nuclear power facility in Europe was captured by Moscow's forces in March 2022 and has been controlled by the Russian company Rosatom.

All of its six reactors have been shut down, five of which are cold, for over 18 months. The fourth unit is at an elevated temperature to provide steam for the plant and the neighboring town.

While the facility can withstand a commercial airliner crashing into it, there has been international concern at continued hostilities taking place around the plant.

Over the last three weeks the plant has faced drone attacks which prompted the head of the IAEA, Rafael Mariano Grossi, to warn that "we are getting dangerously close to a nuclear accident."

The clip of the latest incident was posted on X, formerly Twitter, by Ukrainian internal affairs adviser Anton Gerashchenko and purports to show video from a Russian drone obtained via electronic surveillance equipment.

"The drones are flying over the power units of the ZNPP towards the constantly shelled Nikopol and Marhanets communities," Gerashchenko wrote adding that the UT4D. TT marking on the drone showed that it was supplied through Russia's defense ministry, which Newsweek has contacted for comment.

Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence said that Russian forces have equipped launch sites for their drones right next to the plant's sixth reactor.

"Since the summer of 2023, the Russians have been using the territory of the captured nuclear power plant for training FPV (first person view) drone pilots," the post said.

Ukraine and its allies blamed Russia for endangering the site while Moscow in turn has said that Kyiv was responsible for the drones. Because the drones are remote-controlled, Grossi said it was impossible to definitively determine who launched them.

In a statement to Newsweek last month, the American Nuclear Society said it backed the IAEA's call for an immediate removal of Russian military and personnel from the ZNPP and there should be no attack of any kind from or against the plant.

It also said that the plant should not be used as storage or a base for heavy weapons or military personnel that could be used for an attack.

"Nuclear power plants are robust, hardened pieces of critical infrastructure," the statement said, "still, nuclear plants, like all other industrial civilian infrastructure, were not designed with war in mind."

Update 05/02/24, 9 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with further information.