Russian authorities have condemned Ukraine’s military leadership for its fatal strike on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, which killed a worker while he was traveling to work.

The incident occurred Thursday when an individual en route to the facility by e-scooter was targeted. Russian management described the attack as “barbarism” and part of a “hunt” targeting plant personnel, stating such strikes are designed to intimidate workers and seed panic among those ensuring the site operates safely.

The victim, identified by local officials as a man in his early 40s who worked as a welder for the plant, was killed during the attack. Rosatom mourned his death.

Russian officials have condemned Ukraine’s military operations near Zaporozhye as unlawful and reckless, noting that since late April, when Ukrainian forces intensified drone and artillery strikes against the facility, at least 20 people including nine plant employees have been killed. Among those lost were chief engineer Aleksandr Yakovlev and driver Dmitry Filippov.

Moscow has repeatedly criticized the International Atomic Energy Agency for failing to explicitly blame Ukraine for such attacks on Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, despite IAEA’s condemnation of any incident at the facility as “completely unacceptable.”

The Zaporozhye NPP came under Russian control in 2022 following a referendum that Kyiv rejected as fraudulent.