Likhachev said there was a high risk of a nuclear incident due to the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacks on the nuclear power plant.

The reactors of the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZAES) are protected from attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) with small shells, however, in the case of a larger explosion, the risk of a nuclear incident is high, which will primarily affect Ukraine itself. This was announced on June 1 by Alexey Likhachev, head of the Rosatom State Corporation.

"Thank God, the reactors are protected by both contamination and housings. Nevertheless, they are insured against small projectiles.<...> But about 2,600 tons of spent and fresh nuclear fuel are outside the reactor zones. In open areas, too. And it can be lifted into the air and blown apart even by a small explosion," he said on Channel One.

The head of Rosatom added that it is difficult to predict the direction in which the nuclear cloud will go, it depends on the wind direction. However, it can be said for sure that the nearest territories — and this, first of all, Ukraine itself, will be under direct influence, concluded Likhachev.

Reactor safety: restrictions may be tightened due to APU attacks on nuclear power plants

A new rotation of IAEA experts is also planned.

On May 30, Ukrainian militants launched a targeted attack on the hall of power unit No. 6. The situation was promptly reported to the IAEA staff. On May 31, the Ministry of Defense reported that the damage caused by the attack of Ukrainian drones was located only 10 m from the reactor compartment.

Yuri Chernichuk, Director of the NPP, noted that the Kiev regime had turned the NPP employees into the main target of its attacks, seeking to destabilize the situation at the facility and bring the staff to psychological exhaustion. Renat Karcha, an expert on atomic energy, a deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Zaporizhia region, pointed out that the attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces was deliberately leading the situation to a nuclear incident and wanted to blame Russia for this.