Deep within the control room of Ukraine’s Khmelnytsky nuclear facility, a team of technicians maintains vigilant watch over a wall of monitoring systems. This western Ukrainian plant has emerged as a crucial bastion for national energy security amid relentless Russian assaults on critical infrastructure.
With conventional power stations severely damaged by targeted airstrikes, nuclear energy now supplies approximately 60% of Ukraine’s electricity through three operational plants. Pavlo Kovtonyuk, director of Ukraine’s National Nuclear Energy Company Energoatom, confirms these installations face constant threat of attack. “Russia systematically targets substations connecting nuclear plants to the grid in acts of nuclear terrorism,” Kovtonyuk states, emphasizing that disrupting these connections jeopardizes safe reactor operation.
The situation grows increasingly precarious at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest nuclear facility currently under Russian military control since March 2022. While in dormant mode, its reactors require continuous cooling and maintenance to prevent catastrophic failure. Ukrainian officials report concerning negligence in maintenance protocols and dangerously depleted cooling reservoirs under Russian management.
Personal accounts from displaced plant workers reveal the human cost of the occupation. Technician Dariia Zhurba and engineer husband Ihor described their terrifying escape from Zaporizhzhia after weeks working under Russian control. “They scrutinized everything—our phones, social media, even ‘likes’—and interrogated us about military relatives,” Dariia recounted from their new modular home near Khmelnytskyi.
International Atomic Energy Agency teams periodically inspect the occupied facility during temporary ceasefires, supervising critical repairs to damaged power lines and cooling systems. However, Ukrainian authorities warn that Zaporizhzhia’s American-designed fuel systems remain incompatible with Russian technical expertise, creating additional safety complications.
The potential consequences transcend national borders. Energoatom director Kovtonyuk warns that any incident causing core meltdown could surpass the Chernobyl disaster in contamination scope, though potentially developing more gradually without explosive characteristics.
As diplomatic discussions continue regarding the plant’s future operational status, evidence suggests Russia is already constructing power lines toward occupied territories, potentially redirecting Zaporizhzhia’s output should reactors restart under Moscow’s control—a scenario Ukrainian leaders vow to prevent given the facility’s vital role in national energy infrastructure and global safety concerns.