UN Demands Russia Return Zaporizhzhia Plant, Withdraw Personnel From Europe's Largest Nuclear Site
Updated
Updated · Chicago Tribune · May 15
UN Demands Russia Return Zaporizhzhia Plant, Withdraw Personnel From Europe's Largest Nuclear Site
2 articles · Updated · Chicago Tribune · May 15
A July 2024 UN resolution called on Russia to immediately hand the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant back to Ukraine and remove its military and other unauthorized personnel.
Russia has occupied the site since March 4, 2022, and the report says that military activity around the plant has created repeated nuclear-safety near misses.
Multiple losses of external grid power have forced reliance on diesel generators to keep cooling systems running, while shelling, on-site military equipment and damage linked to the Kakhovka dam have added risk.
The reactors are shut down and monitored by International Atomic Energy Agency staff, but the report warns a prolonged loss of cooling could still trigger a Fukushima-like accident with radiation spreading across a wide area.
Drawing on Chernobyl's 1986 disaster, the article argues that nuclear plants are not designed for war and that any catastrophe at Zaporizhzhia would have consequences far beyond Ukraine.
Experts downplay disaster risks, but could captive operators under extreme stress become the unpredictable trigger for a nuclear incident?
Russia's seizure created a new playbook for war. What prevents civilian nuclear plants from becoming future strategic weapons?
Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant Crisis: Drone Attacks, Power Instability, and the Global Stakes of Ukraine’s War
Overview
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has remained under Russian control, making it a central point of international concern. In early May 2026, a series of drone attacks targeted both the plant and nearby infrastructure, causing power and water outages in Enerhodar and raising alarms about nuclear safety. The IAEA observed damage to equipment, highlighting the plant's vulnerability. These incidents underscore the urgent need for a secure environment, as the plant now relies on a single backup power line, and the risk of a nuclear catastrophe grows amid ongoing conflict and calls for Russian withdrawal.