President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a speech on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster, emphasizing the danger posed by the Russian occupation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP and the city of Enerhodar.
This is reported by Finway
Occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP: risks for Ukraine and the entire world
The head of state stressed that Russian troops have turned the largest nuclear power plant in Europe into a base for their military operations. According to Zelensky, weapons, ammunition, and military equipment are stored on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia NPP, and the perimeter of the plant has been mined. The city of Enerhodar is effectively held hostage, and the plant has already experienced power outages fourteen times.
“The Russians have turned our Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant into an object for their war, firing from there against our cities and villages, storing weapons, shells, and military equipment at the Zaporizhzhia NPP, mining the perimeter of the plant, and effectively holding our city of Enerhodar hostage. The Zaporizhzhia NPP has already gone through complete power outages fourteen times.”
The president emphasized that Russia’s actions pose a threat not only to Ukraine but to all of Europe. He stressed the need for international control over the situation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP and limiting Russia’s actions for the sake of global security.
Attack on Chernobyl NPP and the consequences of Russian aggression
Zelensky also recalled a recent incident when a Russian strike drone hit the new safe confinement at the Chernobyl NPP, which protects the remains of the fourth power unit. This attack occurred on February 14, 2025, and the consequences were only fully mitigated by March 7 of the same year. According to estimates by IAEA experts, although the design of the confinement did not suffer critical damage, it lost some of its safety functions.
The Zaporizhzhia NPP and the city of Enerhodar were seized by Russia at the beginning of the full-scale invasion in February-March 2022. Since then, the nuclear power plant has not been generating electricity, and its six power units have been put into a cold shutdown state.