Vienna / August 3, 2025 — The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reported hearing multiple explosions and observing smoke in the vicinity of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), the largest nuclear facility in Europe, amid renewed concerns about the safety of the war-scarred site.
According to an official statement from the agency on Saturday evening, IAEA monitors stationed at the Russian-occupied facility “heard several explosions over the past 24 hours” and “saw smoke rising from a location outside the perimeter of the plant.” The agency did not report any immediate damage to the plant’s reactors or spent fuel storage areas.
While the source and intent of the explosions remain unclear, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi expressed “deep concern” and renewed calls for military restraint in and around the nuclear facility.
“The presence of military activity so close to the plant is extremely dangerous. Any attack, whether accidental or intentional, poses a significant risk of a radiological disaster,” Grossi said in a statement from the agency’s headquarters in Vienna.
The Zaporizhzhia plant, located in southeastern Ukraine, has been under Russian control since March 2022. It has since become a flashpoint in the ongoing war, with both Ukrainian and Russian authorities accusing each other of endangering its safety. Although the reactors have been shut down for months, the facility still houses nuclear material that could be compromised if struck.
Local Ukrainian authorities said shelling was reported in Enerhodar, the city where the plant is situated, though no casualties or damage to the nuclear site were immediately confirmed.
The latest tensions follow a pattern of near-miss incidents and escalations that have plagued the region since the invasion began. The IAEA has repeatedly urged both Moscow and Kyiv to agree on a formal safety zone around the plant, but negotiations have stalled.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres also weighed in, urging both sides to avoid any military engagements near the nuclear facility. “The Zaporizhzhia plant must not be a theatre of war. Its safety is essential not just for Ukraine, but for the entire region,” he said.
IAEA inspectors remain on-site and are continuing to monitor radiation levels, which have so far remained within normal limits.
However, the fragile state of the plant’s infrastructure — coupled with the intensifying military activity in the surrounding area — has reignited fears of a potential nuclear catastrophe on European soil.
Both Russian and Ukrainian officials have yet to issue formal responses to the IAEA’s latest findings.
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