The American magazine TIME has released an extensive investigation titled “How Putin Stole a Nuclear Power Plant (And Got Away With It)”. The report details how russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in 2022 and chronicles the events surrounding it since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
This was reported by TIME.
According to TIME, Vladimir Putin had detailed knowledge of the plant’s layout — from cooling systems to power lines — and deliberately made it a part of his military strategy. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, who has met with putin several times, said: “He knew everything very precisely. Not just in broad terms, but down to the technical details.” The report describes how the facility in Enerhodar was turned into a military base occupied by armed russian troops and storing a significant amount of nuclear fuel.
The investigation reveals that the occupation of the plant was accompanied by kidnappings and torture of local residents. Ivan Samoydyuk, former deputy mayor of Enerhodar, spent 333 days in captivity, saying: “It was impossible to sleep. As soon as I began to drift off, the sounds of torture came from the neighboring cells.” The article states that plant employees were forced to renounce their Ukrainian citizenship, while control over the facility was taken by russia’s state corporation Rosatom.
Grossi acknowledged that the IAEA lacks the means to compel russia to withdraw from the plant, describing the situation as unstable from a nuclear safety standpoint. During a recent power outage, the cooling systems had to run on backup generators. “It’s clearly not a stable situation in terms of nuclear safety,” he said.
TIME also reports that Donald Trump’s administration is involved in negotiations aimed at restoring electricity to the plant. A senior U.S. official said there is “finally a light at the end of the tunnel,” though the issue of control over the facility remains unresolved. Ukraine insists the power plant must remain entirely under its jurisdiction, while russia continues to use it as both a military stronghold and a tool of political pressure.
The article also notes that the plant has come under fire multiple times, while nearby cities, including Nikopol, suffer constant shelling. Yevhen Yevtushenko, former head of the local district administration, gave Grossi a fragment of a russian shell through journalist Simon Shuster, saying: “They are using us as a target.” Grossi responded that his mission is to prevent a nuclear catastrophe: “This story is being written every day. We don’t know how it will end.”
Photo: Time
Author: Danylo Pievchev