Drone strike damages radiation monitor at Zaporizhzhia plant, Russian-installed officials say
The plant sits on the front line as Kyiv and Moscow prepare for separate talks in New York this week
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Map: Ukraine, marking Zaporizhzhia
Russian-installed officials at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant say a radiation monitoring station on the site was damaged in a Ukrainian drone attack.
The plant, Europe's largest, has been under Russian control since early in the war and sits close to the front line in southeastern Ukraine. It has been the site of repeated shelling and drone incidents since 2022.
The damage comes as diplomatic activity around the war picks up. Zelenskiy is preparing to meet Trump in New York, and has said Russia must stop targeting Ukraine's energy sector. Separately, Lavrov and Rubio are due to meet in New York on September 23.
Damage to radiation monitoring at the plant raises its risk profile at a moment when diplomatic channels are opening. Ukraine and Russia both have reasons to avoid a catastrophic accident there, but each strike narrows the margin for error and raises the chance of an accident neither side wants. That shifts the risk calculus for the talks scheduled in the coming days.