Ukraine’s forces tried to use U.S.-supplied weapons to seize Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant, according to the Russian-installed governor of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, international alarm has arisen over the hostilities taking place around southern Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP), which Russia captured at the start of the war.
On Tuesday, the Zaporizhzhia Governor Yevgeny Balitsky appeared to stoke this concern with a post on Telegram about an alleged attack by Ukrainian forces.
“The Russian Armed Forces have thwarted a treacherous attempt to seize the Zaporizhzhia NPP by the terrorist regime of Ukraine. The enemy planned to use HIMARS MLRS and drones,” the post said, referring to the high-mobility artillery rocket system supplied by the U.S.
Balitsky said that attempts to seize the plant are causing “high enemy losses and casualties among mobilized Ukrainians.” The site and its surroundings are “reliably protected by the Russian army,” with staff continuing to work amid background radiation that was “normal,” he added.
Balitsky, who was appointed governor of the region by Russian authorities in May 2022 during Moscow’s occupation of the southern parts of the oblast (region), gave no further details about the alleged incident, which has not been independently confirmed.
Newsweek has reached out by email to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry for comment.
Russian forces seized both the nuclear and thermal power stations at the site on March 4, 2022, and Rosatom, a state-owned nuclear energy corporation, claimed control over the site, which does not generate power and is mostly shut down. But it still needs electricity to keep backups functioning, including water pumps that prevent meltdowns, radiation monitors and other safety systems.
In August, a fire broke out at the site. Video posted on social media showed plumes of smoke billowing into the air following a suspected drone attack that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky blamed on Russia.
A rescue worker participates in emergency services training in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, at the nuclear power plant there on June 29, 2023. The Russian-installed governor of the region said Tuesday that Russian troops had “thwarted” a…
A rescue worker participates in emergency services training in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, at the nuclear power plant there on June 29, 2023. The Russian-installed governor of the region said Tuesday that Russian troops had “thwarted” a Ukrainian attack on the plant.
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The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said one of the cooling towers had been attacked but insisted there were no concerns about nuclear safety.
In September, Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director general of the IAEA, spoke with officials about safety concerns at the site, which is the scene of artillery shelling that each side blames on the other.
Repairs were carried out on one of its six reactors following the discovery of a small water leak from the impulse line, which is part of the reactor cooling pump support system, the IAEA said on October 31.