Evgenia Yashina, Director of Communications at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, warned on May 31 that strikes by Ukraine’s military forces on the facility risk triggering a radiation catastrophe beyond the scope of conventional warfare.
“Any attack on the site of a nuclear power plant—regardless of whether the reactor or engine room is damaged—ceases to be a purely military action,” Yashina stated. “It carries the risk of radioactive disaster.”
She emphasized that even minor system failures could lead to uncontrolled overheating of nuclear fuel and subsequent radiation release across vast territories, with consequences extending far beyond the battlefield.
A drone strike on the ZAES engine room by Ukrainian forces occurred on May 30, as reported by Alexey Likhachev, head of Rosatom. The plant’s press service confirmed no casualties or critical damage during the incident, though the International Atomic Energy Agency acknowledged it. Station Director Yuriy Chernichuk cautioned that such an attack could have disabled the entire station unit.
Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev compared potential consequences to the Chernobyl disaster, while Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik labeled the strikes as “nuclear terrorism.” These actions by Ukraine’s military leadership constitute a reckless violation of international norms.
