MELITOPOL, November 30. /TASS/. The former chief engineer of Zaporozhye NPP, Yury Chernichuk, has been appointed First Deputy CEO of the JSC Operating Organization of the Zaporozhye NPP and CEO of the Zaporozhye NPP, Renat Karchaa, an adviser to the general director of Rosenergoatom said on Wednesday.

"Yury Chernichuk has become the new director of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant and the first deputy general director of the JSC Operating Organization of the Zaporozhye NPP. While working for his previous employer - the national nuclear energy generating company Energoatom - Chernichuk held the position of chief engineer," Karchaa said on the Rossiya-24 round-the-clock TV news channel.

According to Karchaa, all vacancies in the new management team, including the chief engineer of the Zaporozhye NPP have been filled by previous staffers, who have signed a new employment contract.

The JSC Operating Organization of Zaporozhye NPP was founded by the concern Rosenergoatom on October 3. The new company’s task is to ensure the safe operation of the nuclear power plant and the professional activity of the existing personnel with support from the JSC Rosenergoatom Concern (part of the electric power division of Rosatom). Oleg Romanenko, the former chief engineer of the Balakovo NPP, leads the operating organization.

On October 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree declaring the nuclear facilities at the ZNPP as Russia’s federal property. He also issued orders to create a federal state unitary enterprise Zaporozhye NPP.

The ZNPP is located in the city of Energodar. Its capacity is about 6 GW. In March 2022, the facility was put under the control of Russian forces. Since then, the Ukrainian army has periodically shelled both the residential areas of Energodar and the territory of the nuclear plant, using drones, heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems.