Russia’s Occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Has Cost Ukraine Over $5 Billion

As of June, the direct losses incurred by Energoatom due to the occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant have exceeded 210 billion UAH (approximately 5.67 billion USD). This was reported by the acting chairman of the company’s board, Petro Kotin.

“Direct losses in the first week of their presence there amounted to 35 billion UAH (approximately 945 million USD). As of today, we have already lost over 210 billion UAH (approximately 5.67 billion USD) because Zaporizhzhia NPP is not operational,” Kotin stated.

Additionally, Energoatom has not yet calculated the losses from the forced relocation of Zaporizhzhia NPP employees to Ukrainian government-controlled territory. Kotin mentioned that due to the plant’s downtime each month, Energoatom loses around 6 billion UAH (approximately 162 million USD).

Since March 4, 2022, Zaporizhzhia NPP has been under Russian occupation. During this time, Russian forces have repeatedly violated nuclear and radiation safety principles by mining the territory, preventing qualified personnel from working, and cutting off power lines from the Ukrainian energy system.

Despite the presence of an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission at the plant since September 2022, Russians have restricted the agency’s experts from accessing all areas of the NPP.

The situation at Zaporizhzhia NPP remains precarious, with concerns over the competence of the occupying personnel and the potential for a nuclear incident if the plant were to be restarted under current conditions.