MOSCOW, June 18 (Reuters) - The head of Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom on Thursday ‌accused Ukraine of killing a key worker ‌in a drone attack near the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear ​power plant in southeastern Ukraine.

There was no immediate response from Ukraine and Reuters could not independently verify the statement.

Russia took control of the plant, ‌the largest nuclear ⁠power station in Europe, soon after its forces entered Ukraine in 2022 ⁠and both sides regularly accuse each other of endangering its safety with military action.

Alexei Likhachev, head ​of Rosatom, ​said in a ​statement that Ukrainian drones ‌had attacked the nearby city of Enerhodar on Wednesday, where most of the station's employees live.

He said one power plant employee working at a repair workshop had been killed and that ‌doctors were fighting for the ​life of a second ​employee injured in ​the same attack.

"This is the plant's ‌core personnel, on whom the ​safe operation ​of equipment at Europe's largest nuclear power plant directly depends," Likhachev said. In April, ​Russia said ‌another worker from the plant had been ​killed in a Ukrainian drone attack.

(Reporting by ​ReutersEditing by Andrew Osborn)