Satellites have detected the construction of a power line for the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and Crimea

Experts from Greenpeace Ukraine have stated that Russia continues to implement its plan to integrate the seized Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant into its power system and the power grid of the temporarily occupied territories, including Crimea.

Greenpeace Ukraine made this statement, citing satellite imagery.

According to the organization, the occupiers are building a new high-voltage power line along the M18 highway between the temporarily occupied cities of Melitopol and Henichesk. Greenpeace notes that construction was nearly complete as early as May, but it was disrupted by strikes from Ukrainian drones, particularly on a substation in Henichesk in early July.

According to experts, the new power line is needed not only to support military logistics and industrial operations in the occupied south of Ukraine. It is a key element of Moscow’s long-term plan to transmit electricity from the seized Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to the temporarily occupied territories, including Crimea, as well as to Russia’s southern regions.

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Greenpeace emphasizes that Russia’s strategy involves disconnecting the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant from the Ukrainian power grid, restarting the reactors under Rosatom’s control, supplying electricity to the occupied territories, and integrating the plant into the Russian power grid. Greenpeace Ukraine from the Ukrainian power grid, restarting the reactors under Rosatom’s control, supplying electricity to the occupied territories, and integrating the plant into the Russian power grid.

At the same time, the organization believes that the implementation of these plans is becoming increasingly unlikely. Yan Vande Putte, a nuclear energy expert at Greenpeace Ukraine, stated that the new power line will not change the overall trend, which indicates that the Russian project to seize and operate the Zaporizhzhia NPP is doomed to fail.

<picture></picture>PHOTO: Greenpeace Ukraine

Separately, Greenpeace criticized IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi. The organization stated that his remarks regarding the possibility of restarting the reactors under Rosatom’s control effectively play into Russian narratives and fail to emphasize that the occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant itself constitutes a violation of international law and the principles of nuclear safety.

Greenpeace also warned that the illegal occupation of the plant continues to pose high risks of a nuclear accident. In particular, a loss of power or failure of the cooling systems for the reactors and spent-fuel pools could lead to large-scale radioactive contamination.

Андрій Колісніченко