Photo: Collected

MOSCOW, Aug 18, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded 17 others, most of them workers at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Moscow-installed authorities said Tuesday.

Captured by Russian forces in March 2022 shortly after Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine, the Zaporizhzhia plant is Europe's largest nuclear facility and has repeatedly been at the centre of safety concerns during the war.

Ukrainian forces carried out a "targeted strike" on a transport stop in the city of Enerhodar, killing a "nuclear specialist" and injuring 17 people, "most of them employees" of the plant, the facility's Russian-installed management said on Telegram.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it had been informed that a drone exploded at "a bus stop used by staff" travelling to the nuclear plant at around 06:00 am on Tuesday.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi "solemnly calls on military commanders responsible... to put an immediate stop to these unacceptable actions," the UN's nuclear watchdog added on X, warning they pose "great risks to nuclear safety".

Both sides regularly accuse the other of carrying out strikes around the site, which is located in Enerhodar, on the banks of the Dnipro river, near the frontline in southern Ukraine.