Moscow regularly accuses Kyiv of attacking the plant, Europe's largest nuclear power site, which has been under the control of Russian forces for more than two years.

"Ukrainian armed forces attacked the 'Raduga' substation, where at the time staff from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant were working," Russia's nuclear power corporation, Rosatom, said in a post on Telegram.

It said Ukraine fired three self-detonating drones at the substation around 10:30 am (0730 GMT) on Wednesday morning.

Eight people were injured and two transformers at the substation were damaged, resulting in a cut of some power supplies to the nearby town of Energodar.

The site is around four kilometres (2.5 miles) from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Russia took control of the plant in southern Ukraine in the first days after it launched its February 2022 military offensive.

Since then both sides have regularly traded accusations of attacking the facility, accusing each other of risking a potentially devastating nuclear disaster.

The UN's atomic watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has placed inspectors at the site on a permanent basis, and regularly raises concerns about the dangers of a possible direct hit to the plant.