(Reuters) – Ukraine carried out a drone strike on the Russian-held city of Enerhodar near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant on Monday, the head of Russia’s state nuclear corporation was quoted as saying on Tuesday by Russia’s RIA news agency.
Rosatom chief Alexei Likhachev said six drones were launched at Enerhodar, and that all were destroyed.
The city is in territory in southeastern Ukraine that is held by Russia, which sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine over 18 months ago. The nearby Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s biggest, is also in Russian hands.
Later on Tuesday, Ukraine’s military intelligence (GUR) released footage of drone attacks, saying Ukrainian special forces and resistance members in Enerhodar had “congratulated the invaders on the ‘holiday'” – a reference to Russia’s day of migration service workers.
The GUR said that a building in Enerhodar where Russian passports are now being issued, and two locations where up to 12 Russian officers were located, had been hit. A radio communication point had been “neutralised”, it said.
Reuters was not able to verify the reports or the video footage released by the GUR.
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; additional reporting by Yuliia Dysa, Editing by Edmund Klamann, Timothy Heritage and)