DISINFO: IAEA confirmed a new Ukrainian drone attack against Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
SUMMARY
The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed a new Ukrainian attack with drones against one of the facilities of the nuclear plant in Zaporizhzhia, in southwest Russia. On 05 January, the administration of the Zaporizhzhia NPP, guarded by Russian forces, informed that a Ukrainian drone attacked the building of the simulator of the nuclear plant control room. The IAEA explained in its statement that so far its personnel couldn’t verify any possible damage to the facility caused by the Ukrainian attack.
RESPONSE
This is a manipulation of the original statement of the International Atomic Energy Agency on 05 January 2025. In contrast to what this disinformation story states, the agency did not confirm any drone attack in its public communications, nor did it attribute the incident to Ukraine. The organisation’s exact words were: “International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) staff reported hearing loud blasts near Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) today […] For now, the IAEA has not yet been able to confirm any impact. The IAEA team also reported hearing machine gun fire coming from the site on multiple occasions. The IAEA is aware of reports of an alleged attack by a drone at the ZNPP training center today, just outside of the site’s perimeter”.
Russia frequently exchanges accusations with Ukraine over similar incidents around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. While no conclusive evidence has emerged to solidly assign responsibility to any side, this situation has been widely exploited by pro-Kremlin disinformation to accuse Ukraine of posing a nuclear threat, aiming to justify Russia’s invasion of its neighbour as a necessary move for its “self-defence”.
Zaporizhzhia is not “southeast Russia”. It is one of the four regions internationally recognized as Ukrainian territory illegally occupied by Russia.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that Zelenskyy is being pushed to attack the Zaporizhzhia NPP, that Ukraine shells Zaporizhzhia station daily using heavy US weapons, that Ukraine attacked the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant plant with drones, or that the West is instigating Ukraine to carry out acts of nuclear terrorism.