According to the Russian occupation administration, the Russian-controlled Zaporizhia nuclear power plant was not affected by the partial evacuation of the Ukrainian region of Zaporizhia. “Currently there is no need to evacuate the plant’s workers and residents of the city (Enerhodar, NB),” the director of the plant appointed by the Russian authorities, Yuri Chernichuk, said today. “There is no reason to worry. All the reactors (of the power plant, ed.) are shut down”, he explained.
The day before, Moscow-appointed head of administration for the Zaporizhia region, Yevgeny Balitsky, ordered the partial evacuation of 18 Russian-occupied towns in the Zaporizhia region, including Enerhodar, where the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is located.
Families with children, elderly, disabled and hospitalized patients are affected. Balizki justified this by saying that there has been an increase in Ukrainian bombings in recent days.
Controlled by the Russian army since 2022
Russian news agency TASS, citing another occupation administration official, reported that Russian authorities planned to evacuate around 70,000 people from sites in the region.
The nuclear power plant has been controlled by the Russian army since March 2022. It has been repeatedly bombed, stoking fears of a nuclear catastrophe.
Russian occupation authorities announced similar evacuations in the Kherson region last fall. They took place shortly before an offensive in which the Ukrainian army managed to reconquer the regional capital of the same name, which had been occupied by Russian forces.