IAEA reports group of Russian drones near South Ukraine NPP
Photo: South Ukraine NPP (Getty Images)
Russia continues to pose threats to nuclear facilities in Ukraine during attacks. Eight enemy drones were detected near the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), the press service of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reports.
As noted by experts, frequent air raid alarms and distant explosion sounds at Ukraine's nuclear facilities "continued to highlight persistent risks to nuclear safety."
"On the night of 9 April, according to information from the site, eight drones were detected flying within 4 km of the South Ukraine NPP," the agency's report states.
South Ukraine NPP
The South Ukraine NPP is a nuclear power plant located on the banks of the Southern Bug River in the city of Pivdennoukrainsk, Mykolaiv region.
This power plant is part of the South Ukrainian Energy Complex and is a separate division of the National Nuclear Energy Generating Company Energoatom.
After the shutdown of the Chornobyl NPP, four nuclear power plants remain operational in Ukraine: the Zaporizhzhia, Rivne, Khmelnytskyi, and South Ukraine NPPs. These plants operated 15 nuclear power units with a total installed capacity of 13,835 MW. Currently, since February 2022, the Zaporizhzhia NPP has been occupied by Russia.
As previously reported, following a massive overnight combined attack by Russian forces on November 28, 2025, three Ukrainian nuclear power plants (NPPs), the Rivne, Khmelnytskyi, and South Ukraine, reduced their electricity output.
