(Reuters) – The Russian management of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant said on Saturday that a Ukrainian drone had dropped an explosive device on a road outside the plant, endangering personnel traveling on the road, the TASS news agency reported.

Russia has controlled the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The plant has been shut down as Moscow and Kyiv have repeatedly accused each other of sabotaging the plant’s operations and compromising security around the plant.

The attack came against the backdrop of Ukraine’s ongoing invasion of Russia. Ukraine claims to have seized control of 82 settlements covering an area of ​​1,150 square kilometers in the Kursk region since August 6.

The Russian news agency RIA also quoted the acting Russian ambassador to Vienna, Roman Ustinov, as saying that Moscow wanted to discuss the attack on the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant with the leadership of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Russia also wants to call on the IAEA to warn Ukraine against a repeat of such attacks, Ustinov said.

The plant’s six idle reactors, located near the front line, rely on external energy to keep their nuclear material cool and prevent a catastrophic accident.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Susan Fenton)