Drone Attack Kills Worker at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant

A drone attack killed a welder at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine on October 30, 2026. The victim was employed at the plant's repair workshop. The International Atomic Energy Agency reported the death but did not specify whether Russian or Ukrainian forces were responsible for the strike.

IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi condemned the attack on staff as "unacceptable" and urged all warring parties to exercise maximum restraint to prevent a nuclear accident. The Zaporizhzhia plant is the largest in Europe and has remained under Russian control since the 2022 invasion. While its reactors are currently shut down, they still require continuous cooling to remain safe.

The incident occurred alongside a broader wave of Russian drone and missile strikes across Ukraine that killed at least 20 people. These attacks included a strike on a railway station in Dnipro that killed 14 people, as well as fatal strikes in Kiev, Chernihiv, and Kremenchuk.