MOSCOW, April 9. /TASS/. Ukrainian military’s strikes on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) have no significance for solving military tasks, but are aimed at ‘spreading fear and panic,’ Renat Karchaa, adviser to the CEO of Russian state nuclear power corporation Rosenergoatom, said.
"What kind of military tasks should be achieved by UAVs’ strikes… on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant? There are none. But why they are being delivered? Because there is only one task basically… and it is to intimidate, to spread the fear and panic, to destabilize the interior situation," he said in a video statement posted by Izvestia daily channel on its Telegram channel.
"Ukraine's actions are like terrorism. It is pure terrorism and nothing else," Karchaa added.
On April 7, the Ukrainian armed forces carried out an unprecedented series of attacks on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant. One strike hit the territory adjacent to the cafeteria, injuring three employees; one employee was seriously injured, according to Rosatom. Half an hour later, a drone attacked the cargo port area; later, a drone attacked NPP’s Unit 6, hitting the reactor’s dome.
Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant
The Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, located in the city of Energodar, has a capacity of about 6 GW and is Europe’s largest. It has been controlled by Russian troops since late February 2022. Since then, Ukrainian army units have periodically shelled both residential areas in Energodar and the premises of the ZNPP itself, using drones, heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS).