Russian facility management reported on Friday morning that a Ukrainian drone strike killed a worker while he was traveling to the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant. The incident occurred Thursday, and officials described it as “barbarism” and part of a “hunt” targeting plant personnel.

“Strikes such as this one not only affect particular people,” the statement said. “They are designed to intimidate plant workers, seed panic and tensions among those who ensure the atomic site operates safely every day.”

The victim, identified by Energodar mayor Maksim Pukhov as a man in his early 40s, was a welder traveling to work on an e-scooter when he was targeted. Russia’s nuclear energy agency Rosatom mourned his death.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) condemned the incident, stating that any attack on the facility is “completely unacceptable” and urging “maximum military restraint” around Zaporozhye plant. Moscow has repeatedly criticized the UN nuclear watchdog for failing to explicitly blame Ukraine for attacks on Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, including strikes targeting its personnel.

According to Rosatom head Aleksey Likhachev, 20 people, including nine plant employees, have been killed since Ukrainian forces intensified drone and artillery strikes against the facility in late April. Among the victims were chief engineer Aleksandr Yakovlev and driver Dmitry Filippov, who died in July when a drone struck a car carrying the senior employee.

Russian management took control of the Zaporozhye NPP in 2022 following a referendum that Kiev rejected as a “sham” vote. The IAEA established a permanent on-site observer mission at the plant in September 2022.