Russia must immediately withdraw its troops from ZNPP and return it to Ukraine's control - US in OSCE

Political Advisor to the US Mission to the OSCE, Elisabeth Rosenstock-Siller, made this statement during the Permanent Council of the Organization in Vienna, as quoted by Ukrinform.

"News reports Russia has mined the plant and is planning a “false flag” incident are deeply concerning, and the militarization of the site continues to jeopardize the nuclear safety and security of the reactors, and the ability of plant personnel to respond to incidents or accidents. Russia must withdraw from the plant immediately and return it to Ukrainian control safely," she said.

Rosenstock-Siller added that the aggressor country has shocked the world with its treatment of ZNPP workers and reckless disregard for nuclear safety.

The situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant

Russians occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP in late February 2022. Since then, there has been a constant presence of personnel and military equipment, which the invaders store in machine rooms and occasionally deploy to positions for shelling the territories of the Nikopol district in the Dnipropetrovsk region, located on the other side of the Kakhovka Reservoir.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has a monitoring mission at the station, which is supposed to ensure that the nuclear power plant is not used as a military base, that it is not attacked, and that no fire is initiated from the NPP. Power outages at the nuclear power plant occur regularly though. Occupiers began importing explosives to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant last year.

It became known in May 2023 that the Russians had placed explosives in the turbine room of the  ZNPP’s fourth power unit. Additionally, the invaders have nearly completely destroyed the emergency readiness and response system at the nuclear power plant.

On June 22, the Director-General of the IAEA, after visiting ZNPP Grossi, stated that the situation at the plant is extremely unstable. On the same day, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that intelligence had received information that Russia was considering a scenario for a terrorist act at the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which would cause a radiation release. 

The Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyrylo Budanov, stated that Russia has completed preparations for a terrorist act at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

On June 30, the Main Intelligence Directorate reported that the occupying Russian forces were gradually leaving the ZNPP, and that Ukrainian employees who had signed a contract with Rosatom also received evacuation recommendations. In addition, the plant's staff received an order to blame Ukraine in any emergency situation.

In his turn, Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ counteroffensive and the process of Ukraine regaining control over the plant would continue even despite Russian nuclear blackmail.

On July 2, the mayor of the temporarily occupied Enerhodar, Dmytro Orlov, said that some Rosatom employees and collaborators who had signed a contract with the company had left the plant.

On Tuesday, 4 July, the Armed Forces of Ukraine officially reported that the Russian occupying forces were preparing a provocation at ZNPP: Russians had placed suspicious devices similar to explosives on the roof of the third and fourth power units.

At night, on 4 July, Zaporizhzhia NPP lost power from the main power line, and the plant was connected to the only available backup line.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron and warned him that Russia was preparing provocations at the Zaporizhzhia NPP.

On July 5, during a meeting of the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation, the EU made a statement that Russia must immediately stop actions that threaten the security of nuclear facilities and withdraw its troops from Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, said on July 6 that the threat of a terrorist attack at the Zaporizhzhia NPP was decreasing. However, the head of Energoatom later stated that approximately 700 Russian soldiers are currently present at the Zaporizhzhia NPP. The plant has been mined, and machine gun nests have been placed on the roofs of the power units. Energoatom also reported that Russian forces are permitting Russian specialists without the necessary knowledge and skills to operate the plant to work at the Zaporizhzhia NPP.