UN Security Council condemns attack on UAE nuclear plant

Russia joined other UN Security Council members on Tuesday (May 19, 2026) to condemn the drone strike on the UAE’s Barakah nuclear power plant, which Abu Dhabi said originated from Iraq where pro-Iranian proxies are active.

The unclaimed drone struck an electrical generator on Sunday (May 17, 2026) near the Arab world’s first nuclear power plant in Barakah in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, triggering a fire but causing no injuries nor radiation leak.

“Attacks targeting peaceful nuclear facilities in any country of the world…are categorically unacceptable,” said Russia’s ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzya.

“Against this backdrop, our country categorically condemns the actions of those who carried out the strike targeting the plant on the territory of the UAE, thereby generating risks of escalation,” he continued without naming any party.

“We trust that all stakeholders will do everything necessary to avoid a recurrence of such a dangerous incident,” he added, noting that the strike likely would not have happened without the U.S.-Israeli operation against Iran, Moscow’s long-standing ally.

Abu Dhabi said Tuesday (May 19, 2026) that the drones came from Iraq, where Iran-backed groups have been carrying out attacks against Gulf nations since the West Asia war erupted.

From China to the United States, the other members of the Security Council also condemned the strikes, which have not been claimed by any group.

“What sane nation, either directly or indirectly through proxies, sends drone attacks into an active and ongoing nuclear power plant?” asked U.S. ambassador Mike Waltz, denouncing “outrageous and unacceptable attacks.”

“What is the world left to believe? That if Iran…can’t achieve a nuclear weapon — and it can’t use it as it has threatened over and over again on its neighbors — that it’s now going to find a clever and dangerous way to weaponize a nuclear power plant?

“I struggle to come to any other conclusion,” he said.