Greenpeace exposes Russian disinformation over strikes on Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant

Russia is deliberately sabotaging power supply lines at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP). More than half of all cases of total loss of off-site power at the plant since 2022 have occurred over the last seven months.

Source: Greenpeace Ukraine

Details: A new analysis by Greenpeace Ukraine found no evidence of the claimed Ukrainian strikes.

Quote: "Russia is intentionally carrying out sabotage and deliberately disabling ZNPP power supply lines."

Details: The new investigation by Greenpeace Ukraine, conducted jointly with London-based McKenzie Intelligence Services (MIS), exposes a Russian disinformation campaign claiming that Ukrainian artillery strikes and drone attacks caused severe damage to critical infrastructure providing power to the ZNPP.

Analysis of high-resolution satellite imagery conducted by MIS found no evidence to support Russian claims of a Ukrainian artillery strike on 10 February 2026 or a UAV attack on 4 June 2026 targeting the Ferrosplavna 330 kV switchyard near the Zaporizhzhia Thermal Power Plant.

The analysis found no evidence of the claimed attack by over 20 Ukrainian UAVs on 4 June 2026 as asserted by Russia. The damage attributed by Russia to an alleged drone attack on 4 June was already present before that date.

Damage to the switchyard unit has been confirmed; however, satellite data does not support Russian assertions that it was caused by Ukrainian artillery strikes or drone attacks.

The Ferrosplavna 330 kV line is one of two off-site power transmission lines providing electricity to the ZNPP.

The other line – the Dniprovska 750 kV line – has been out of service since 22 May 2026, when Russian military attacks caused severe damage to the Dniprovska substation, located approximately 100 km north of the ZNPP.

Russia is intensifying attacks on the Ukrainian power grid, and their impact on nuclear safety is becoming increasingly severe.

Quote from Shaun Burnie, nuclear specialist at Greenpeace Ukraine: "Repeated cases of off-site power loss at the ZNPP are the result of Russian military attacks on Ukraine's energy grid and sabotage at the ZNPP and its associated open switchyards."

Details: Off-site power supply is critical for nuclear safety as it is required to run key reactor safety systems, including pumps that ensure the cooling of nuclear fuel in reactor cores and spent fuel pools.

The ZNPP has six reactor units and six spent fuel pools containing hundreds of tonnes of highly radioactive nuclear fuel. Since Russian troops seized the plant in 2022, the ZNPP has experienced 26 complete losses of off-site power. Fourteen of these cases have occurred since February 2026.

Every complete loss of off-site power forces the ZNPP to rely on emergency diesel generators to maintain critical nuclear safety functions.

Background:

• Earlier, Energoatom emphasised that the actual condition of the temporarily occupied ZNPP points to a continued erosion of fundamental nuclear safety principles.
• Energoatom previously warned that every blackout at the occupied ZNPP degrades the condition of its equipment, particularly the diesel generator units supplying backup power to the station.

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