London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 02, 2026

‘Playing with fire’: UN warns as team to inspect damage at Ukraine nuclear plant

‘Playing with fire’: UN warns as team to inspect damage at Ukraine nuclear plant

The head of the UN nuclear watchdog has warned that whoever fired artillery at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was “playing with fire” as his team prepared to inspect it on Monday for damage from the weekend strikes.

The attacks on Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant in the south of Ukraine came as battles raged in the east, where Russian forces pounded Ukrainian positions along the front line, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station follows setbacks for Russian forces in the Kherson region in the south and a Russian response that has included a barrage of missile strikes across the country, many on power facilities.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said more than a dozen blasts shook the nuclear plant late on Saturday and on Sunday. IAEA head Rafael Grossi said the attacks were extremely disturbing and completely unacceptable.



“Whoever is behind this, it must stop immediately. As I have said many times before, you’re playing with fire!” Grossi said in a statement.

Russia and Ukraine blamed each other for the shelling of the facility, as they have done repeatedly in recent months after attacks on it or near it.

Citing information provided by plant management, an IAEA team on the ground said there had been damage to some buildings, systems and equipment, but none of them critical for nuclear safety and security.

The team plans to conduct an assessment on Monday, Grossi said, but Russian nuclear power operator Rosenergoatom said there would be curbs on what the team could inspect.

“If they want to inspect a facility that has nothing to do with nuclear safety, access will be denied,” Renat Karchaa, an adviser to Rosenergoatom’s CEO, told the Tass news agency.

Repeated shelling of the plant has raised concern about a grave accident just 500 km (300 miles) from the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident, the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

The Zaporizhzhia plant provided about a fifth of Ukraine’s electricity before Russia’s invasion, and has been forced to operate on back-up generators a number of times. It has six Soviet-designed VVER-1000 V-320 water-cooled and water-moderated reactors containing Uranium 235.

The reactors are shut down but there is a risk that nuclear fuel could overheat if the power driving the cooling systems is cut. Shelling has repeatedly cut power lines.

Russia’s defense ministry said Ukraine fired shells at power lines supplying the plant but Ukraine’s nuclear energy firm Energoatom accused Russia’s military of shelling the site, saying the Russians had targeted infrastructure necessary to restart parts of the plant in an attempt to further limit Ukraine’s power supply.

In eastern Ukraine, Russian forces battered Ukrainian front-line positions with artillery fire, with the heaviest attacks in the Donetsk region, Zelensky said in a video address.

Russia withdrew its forces from the southern city of Kherson this month and moved some of them to reinforce positions in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, an industrial area known as the Donbas.

“The fiercest battles, as before, are in the Donetsk region. Although there were fewer attacks today due to worsening weather, the amount of Russian shelling unfortunately remains extremely high,” Zelensky said.

“In the Luhansk region, we are slowly moving forward while fighting. As of now, there have been almost 400 artillery attacks in the east since the start of the day,” he said.

Ukraine’s military in an early Monday update confirmed heavy fighting over the previous 24 hours, saying its forces had repelled Russian attacks in the Donetsk region while Russian forces were shelling in the Luhansk region in the east and Kharkiv in the northeast.

In the south, Zelensky said troops were “consistently and very calculatedly destroying the potential of the occupiers” but gave no details.

Kherson city remains without electricity, running water or heating.

Ukraine said on Saturday that about 60 Russian soldiers had been killed in a long-range artillery attack in the south, the second time in four days that Ukraine has claimed to have inflicted major casualties in a single incident.

Russia’s defense ministry said on Sunday that up to 50 Ukrainian servicemen were killed the previous day along the southern Donetsk front line and 50 elsewhere.

Reuters was not able to immediately verify any battlefield reports.

Russia calls its invasion of Ukraine a “special operation” to demilitarize and “denazify” its neighbor, though Kyiv and its allies say the invasion is an unprovoked war of aggression.

Oleh Zhdanov, a military analyst in Kyiv, said that according to his information, Russian offensives were taking place on the Bakhmut and Avdiivka front line in the Donetsk region, among others.

“The enemy is trying to break through our defenses, to no avail,” Zhdanov said in a social media video. “We fight back — they suffer huge losses.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Councils to Receive Sweeping Planning Powers to Ban New Vape and Betting Shops
Chancellor John Healey Faces Tax and Pension Scrutiny Ahead of Autumn Budget
Metropolitan Police Apologise for Accidental Disclosure in High-Profile Investigation
UK Universities Report Record International Enrolment as Housing Pressure Grows
UK Logistics Firms Monitor Rhine Disruption as Low Water Threatens European Supply Chains
UK Food Industry Warns Inflation Could Approach 7%
UK Introduces Vaping Duty and Mandatory Retail Stamps
Scotland Raises Property Taxes and Expands Child Payment in Annual Budget
Greggs Plans Four Factory Closures With 740 Jobs at Risk
OECD Raises UK 2026 Growth Forecast to 1.1%
UK Inflation Rises to 3.1% as Bank of England Faces Rate Debate
Andy Burnham Criticises Brexit and Says Rejoining EU Single Market Remains an Option
UK Imposes New Sanctions on Russian Military Networks and Propagandists
UK Launches Nationwide Early-Release Prison Scheme
Andy Burnham Says Security Services See Signs of Iranian Involvement in RAF Fairford Incident
Manchester City Found Guilty on Premier League Financial Charges After Independent Investigation
Scottish Court to Rule on Bid to Force No-Confidence Vote Against Aberdeen Council Co-Leader
UK Bans Extra Charges for Seating Children Under 12 Beside Accompanying Adults
UK Introduces Vaping Duty and New Licensing Requirements
Greggs to Close Four UK Factories and Cut 740 Jobs
Hundreds of Prisoners Released Early as England and Wales Prisons Reach 98% Capacity
UK Unveils New Russia Sanctions Targeting War Funding and Shadow Fleet
Burnham Says There Are Strong Indications of Iranian Involvement in RAF Fairford Security Breach
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Raises Prospect of Reviewing Britain's Post-Brexit EU Relationship
Markets Price in Bank of England Rate Increases as Inflation Rises to 3.1%
UK Borrowing Costs Climb Toward 5.5% as Global Bond Sell-Off Intensifies
UK-France One-In-One-Out Migration Agreement Expires as London Seeks Alternative Measures
Southwest England Faces Flood Alerts After Heavy Autumn Storms
UK Expands Funding for Rapid Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure
Welsh Government Approves Funding to Upgrade South Wales Transport
Northern Ireland Tensions Rise as Orange Order Rejects Drumcree Compromise
NHS Leaders Back Early Design of Proposed National Care Service
More Than One-Third of Regional UK Universities Face Financial Deficits
UK Current Account Deficit Narrows as Cross-Border Financial Flows Remain Strong
Bank of England and FCA Issue New Rules for Stablecoins and Digital Assets
MI5 Warns UK Universities Over Research Links With Chinese Institutions
UK Energy Price Cap Rises 4% as Electricity VAT Is Temporarily Suspended
Equity Calls for UK Personality Rights to Protect Performers From AI Replication
OpenAI Pauses Advanced Model Training Following Safety Concerns
Scottish Government Proposes Replacing 32 Councils With Larger Regional Authorities
Ofgem Raises UK Household Energy Price Cap by 4% From October
UK Counter-Terrorism Police Continue Investigation After Five Arrests Near RAF Fairford
OECD Cuts UK 2027 Growth Forecast to 1%
Labour Says State Pension Triple Lock Remains Protected Through Current Parliament
Andy Burnham Pledges National Care Service With Free Social Care in England
Six Flags Permanently Shuts Landmark X2 Roller Coaster Following Safety Scandals
Metropolitan Police Rule Out Terrorism in Golders Green Stabbing Investigation
Lithium-Ion Battery Identified as Cause of Fatal Merseyside House Fire
UK Department Rejects New Sea Use Framework Due to Stakeholder Fatigue
Major Thames Water Pipe Burst Causes School Closures in London
×