Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant: Control, News & Status

For more than three years, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant has sat in the middle of an active war zone. The Zaporizhzhia facility, once one of the continent’s most important energy producers, has become a flashpoint where military operations and nuclear safety collide in ways that international observers say have no modern precedent. The plant has been shelled, drone-struck, and occupied—all while its six reactors sit cold and its staff work under extraordinary pressure.

Largest in Europe: Yes, among top 10 worldwide · Current Control: Russian forces · Reactors: 6 units · Recent Incident: Worker killed in drone attack · Blackouts: 14 full blackouts since occupation

The following table summarizes key operational and status attributes of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant based on verified sources.

Does Russia Still Control Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant?

Russian forces have maintained physical control of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant since March 4, 2022, when they seized the facility during the Battle of Enerhodar. That occupation marked the first time in history that an operational nuclear power plant experienced full-scale military capture, setting a precedent that nuclear safety experts continue to grapple with. The International Atomic Energy Agency has maintained continuous observers on site since autumn 2022, but those monitors have no enforcement power.

Under occupation, Russian forces assumed control of security and access systems at the facility, a move that violated Ukrainian nuclear safety legislation, according to the US Department of Energy. Russian-installed management subsequently took over daily operations, with director Yuriy Chernichuk announcing in early 2025 that the facility aimed for compliance with Russian nuclear regulations by 2028 and was exploring the potential restart of two reactor units. Ukraine has rejected any discussion of restart, calling it a violation of international nuclear safety standards.

Current occupation status

The Russian-installed administration operates the plant under conditions that multiple international bodies have characterized as dangerous. The US Department of Energy documented that Russian personnel have mistreated Ukrainian staff, including cases of detention and physical abuse, creating what officials described as a hostile environment for the workers who remain. Military vehicles have been stationed within the plant’s perimeter, a practice that violates core principles of nuclear site protection. The plant’s external power connections have been attacked repeatedly, forcing reliance on emergency diesel generators that can sustain cooling systems for approximately 20 days before fuel runs out.

IAEA monitoring role

IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi has described the situation as a continuous nuclear safety crisis requiring maximum restraint from all parties. The organization’s experts have documented incidents ranging from the placement of mines near the plant in mid-2023 to the ongoing drone activity that has escalated since 2024. While IAEA observers can report conditions and issue warnings, they lack any mechanism to compel compliance or remove military equipment from the site.

What is Going on with the Zaporizhzhia Power Plant?

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant sits in the middle of an active war zone, and its situation has only grown more dangerous as the conflict has evolved. Drone strikes, artillery fire, and power losses have become recurring features of life at the facility, with both Russia and Ukraine accusing each other of attacks that endanger nuclear safety. The most recent confirmed incident occurred on April 27, 2026, when a Ukrainian drone struck the plant’s transport department, killing one employee—a driver working under Russian control.

This was not an isolated event. The facility has experienced at least 14 full blackouts of its external power supply since the occupation began, each time forcing operators to switch to emergency diesel generators. Off-site power is critical for safely maintaining the plant’s reactors in their cold shutdown state, and repeated losses of that supply represent one of the most persistent safety risks identified by international monitors.

Latest news updates

The April 2026 drone attack that killed a worker was reported by Russian-installed management via Telegram, making independent verification difficult, as the source falls into a lower confidence tier. However, the incident fits a pattern of escalating activity around the facility that has been documented by higher-confidence sources including the United Nations and the Arms Control Association.

The destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in June 2023, which occurred under Russian control, added another complication by disrupting the facility’s cooling water supply. The plant now relies on alternative water sources, a situation that further strains the already compromised infrastructure.

Safety concerns

The International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly warned that military activity near nuclear facilities violates fundamental safety principles. Director-General Grossi stated that the April 2024 drone strike on the Unit 6 reactor dome represented a significant escalation because it was the first direct targeting of the facility since November 2022. Technical analysis from the European Nuclear Society suggests that drone damage to containment structures is unlikely to cause radioactive release due to multiple engineering barriers and the plant’s cold shutdown state, but the cumulative effect of repeated attacks on power infrastructure remains a serious concern.

Where is Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant?

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant sits on the banks of the Dnipro River in southeastern Ukraine, near the city of Enerhodar. The plant occupies a strategic position in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, roughly 500 kilometers southeast of Kyiv. Its placement made it a significant energy producer for all of Ukraine before the 2022 invasion, powering millions of homes across the country through its six reactors.

Location in Ukraine

Enerhodar was a purpose-built city constructed in the 1970s to house the nuclear power plant’s workers and their families. The town sits between the Dnipro River and the plant itself, making it difficult to separate civilian infrastructure from military targets in the current conflict. The Kakhovka Reservoir, which once provided cooling water to the plant, was disrupted when the Kakhovka Dam was destroyed in June 2023.

On map

Geographically, the plant sits in a region that has seen some of the heaviest fighting since Russia’s 2022 invasion. The surrounding Zaporizhzhia Oblast has been contested territory, with Ukrainian forces pushing against Russian defensive lines to the south and east. The plant itself lies just west of the current front lines, meaning that military activity in the area directly threatens the facility.

What is the Capacity of Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant?

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant was once one of the most powerful nuclear facilities in Europe, with a nameplate capacity of approximately 6 gigawatts across its six reactors. When fully operational, the plant could produce enough electricity to supply approximately 4 million homes, making it a cornerstone of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Its six reactors, each capable of operating independently, gave the plant flexibility that most nuclear facilities lack.

Power output details

Each of the six VVER-1000 reactors at the facility had a capacity of around 1,000 megawatts, ranking the plant among the top 10 largest nuclear power stations globally. Before the 2022 invasion, ZNPP accounted for roughly 40 percent of Ukraine’s nuclear-generated electricity, with the country’s other major facilities including Rivne, Khmelnytskyy, and South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant.

Comparison to others

At 6 GW total capacity, ZNPP exceeds the output of the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant, which has two reactors, and most Western European nuclear stations. The largest nuclear plants globally include facilities like China’s Taishan and South Korea’s Kori, but ZNPP remains Europe’s largest despite being offline since late 2022. That status makes its continued shutdown under occupation all the more significant for European energy security.

Recent Incidents at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant

The timeline of incidents at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant reads like a catalog of escalating nuclear risk. From the initial shelling in March 2022 that damaged Unit 1 to the drone attacks that have continued into 2026, the facility has experienced a series of events that international monitors have repeatedly called unprecedented. The April 2026 attack that killed a worker represents the latest—and according to some assessments, most troubling—escalation in a pattern that shows no signs of abating.

Both Russia and Ukraine blame each other for attacks on the facility, a dynamic that international observers say makes attribution difficult and accountability nearly impossible. The European Nuclear Society has documented multiple instances where drone strikes targeted specific infrastructure components, including electrical substations and the reactor dome itself, suggesting a level of precision that distinguishes these attacks from earlier artillery exchanges.

Drone strikes

April 7, 2024 marked a turning point when a drone strike directly hit the reactor dome of Unit 6, the first such targeting since November 2022. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed the incident but reported that no critical infrastructure was damaged. Nevertheless, Director-General Grossi stated that the strike violated key principles designed to prevent nuclear accidents.

Subsequent drone strikes on June 19 and 21, 2024 targeted electrical substations in Enerhodar near the plant, damaging radiological monitoring equipment. On August 10, 2024, artillery struck the power and water substation in Enerhodar, affecting plant staff. Throughout August 2024, drone activity near the perimeter continued, with explosions and artillery audible from the facility, according to United Nations reporting.

Fires and explosions

The August 2022 shelling caused significant damage to radiation sensors, nitrogen-oxygen stations, external power supplies, transformers, and cabling at the facility. Fires near the plant have been reported on multiple occasions, though none have resulted in a Chernobyl-level incident. Technical analysis suggests this is partly because the plant’s cold shutdown state and multiple containment barriers provide protection against radioactive release even when external structures are damaged.

Radiation risks

Despite the frequency of attacks, no radiation release has been confirmed from any incident at ZNPP. The European Nuclear Society’s technical analysis attributes this resilience to the plant’s engineering design, which includes multiple barriers between radioactive material and the external environment. However, experts consistently warn that the cumulative effect of power losses and infrastructure damage could eventually compromise safety systems if the pattern continues.

“Yet again we see an escalation of the nuclear safety and security dangers facing the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant.”

— Rafael Mariano Grossi, IAEA Director-General

“Drone usage against the plant and its vicinity is becoming increasingly more frequent and must stop.”

— Rafael Mariano Grossi, IAEA Director-General, June 2024

The incidents table below consolidates documented attacks and security breaches at the plant since Russian occupation began.

Related reading: power outages and monitoring

Safety fears at Zaporizhzhia parallel the harrowing events dramatized in the Chernobyl miniseries that exposed systemic nuclear vulnerabilities.

Frequently asked questions