Ukrainian staff of Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant refuses to start reactor unit 4

This is reported by Ukraine’s nuclear power operator Energoatom.

"Yuriy Chernichuk, illegally appointed by the Russian authorities as the 'director general' of the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP, is persuading nuclear workers who refused to sign fake contracts with Rosatom to start the fourth power unit," the statement says. 

Energoatom noted that the Ukrainian staff of the plant refuses to comply with the order, as it violates the operating license issued by the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine. About 30 licensed employees left ZNPP over the past week due to constant physical and psychological pressure from the occupying forces. They returned to the territory controlled by Ukraine.

"At present, the operational staff brought from Russia is absolutely incompetent and has no relevant experience," Energoatom points out.

Energoatom added that Chernichuk is currently trying to involve Ukrainian workers who were previously blocked from accessing ZNPP because they refused to sign a contract with Rosatom.

Situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

Russian troops occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP in late February 2022. Since then, personnel and military equipment have been permanently stationed there, which the invading forces store in the machine rooms and from time to time bring to positions to shell the territories of the Nikopol district, Dnipropetrovsk region, located on the other side of the Kakhovka reservoir.

An IAEA monitoring mission is working there to ensure that the plant is not used as a military base, that the plant is not attacked or fired upon, and that external power supplies are not interrupted. However, blackouts at the NPP occur constantly. Since last year, Russian troops have started bringing explosives to ZNPP.

In May 2023, Russian forces had placed explosives in the turbine room of the fourth power unit of the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP. They also almost completely destroyed the emergency preparedness and response system at the nuclear power plant.

On June 22, IAEA Director General Grossi said after visiting ZNPP that the situation there was extremely unstable.

On the same day, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that intelligence had received information that Russia was considering a scenario of a terrorist attack on the temporarily occupied ZNPP that would cause a radiation release. He also emphasized that the world has enough power to prevent any radiation incidents - it needs to put pressure and act.

Meanwhile, Russian leader’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov called Zelenskyy's statement a lie.

In turn, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expects a clear assessment by the IAEA of Russia's criminal actions and has appealed to the international community, in particular the G7 and the EU, to take urgent measures to prevent a nuclear disaster at the Zaporizhzhia NPP.

In case of a terrorist attack on the Zaporizhzhia NPP in Enerhodar, the Russian occupying army will not be able to control its consequences. A report by the Institute for the Study of War suggests that Russia may be signaling preparations for sabotage at the plant in an attempt to dissuade the Ukrainian Armed Forces from conducting counteroffensive operations in the area.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Health has issued a warning regarding the uncontrolled use of potassium iodide, which Ukrainians may resort to due to fears of an accident at the Zaporizhzhia NPP. The Ministry emphasizes that the improper and unregulated use of potassium iodide can be hazardous to one's health and life.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs has also deployed relief headquarters, and rescuers will conduct training to eliminate the consequences of a possible Russian terrorist attack on the Zaporizhzhia NPP.

The head of Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, said that Russia has completed preparations for a terrorist attack on the Zaporizhzhia NPP.

On June 29, large-scale exercises were held in four regions of Ukraine to prepare for a possible terrorist attack on the ZNPP.

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 counteroffensive and the process of Ukraine regaining control over ZNPP 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 ZNPP.

At night, on July 4, Zaporizhzhia NPP lost power from the main power line, and the plant was connected to the only available backup line. On July 4, the Armed Forces of Ukraine officially reported that occupying Russian forces were preparing a provocation at ZNPP – they placed suspicious devices similar to explosives on the roof of the 3rd and 4th power units 

At the same time, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyrylo Budanov, said on July 6 that the threat of a terrorist attack at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was decreasing.

However, the president of Ukraine's state-run nuclear company, Energoatom, later said that about 700 Russians were currently at the Zaporizhzhia NPP. The plant is mined, and machine gun nests are placed on the roofs of the power units.

On July 7, the United States in the OSCE called on Russia to immediately withdraw its troops from ZNPP and return it to Ukrainian control, as it was concerned about reports of Russia's mining of the plant and plans for a "false flag" operation.

Also on July 7, the IAEA reported that its mission was able to inspect several facilities at the Zaporizhzhia NPP, except for the roof, but found no signs of explosives.

On July 14, it was reported that about 500 Russian military and Rosatom employees were currently at ZNPP, in particular, they were using the plant to shell the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro regions. Later, Energoatom’s President Petro Kotin said that the Russian forces continue to mine ZNPP. They also use the plant as their military base.

On July 19, the Main Intelligence Directorate warned that Russia plans to carry out another false-flag attack on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.