Shelling was recorded on the territory of the occupied Zaporozhye NPP and near it on November 19 and 20. They resumed both near and on the territory of the nuclear power plant. IAEA experts who work at the station reported that more than a dozen explosions were heard within a short period of time in the morning. The IAEA team could also see some of the explosions from the windows.
Energoatom writes in the Telegram channel about at least 12 arrivals at the station site. They note that the nature and list of damaged ZNPP equipment indicates that the Russians disabled exactly the infrastructure that is necessary to launch power units 5 and 6 and resume electricity production at the Zaporizhzhya NPP for the needs of Ukraine.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi reiterated his urgent appeal to the belligerents to agree on and introduce a nuclear safety zone around the ZNPP as soon as possible. In recent months, Grossi has held intensive consultations with Ukraine and Russia on the creation of such a zone, but no agreement has been reached with them.
The video of the shelling of the station was published by the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov. “At a time when all international organizations are trumpeting with might and main about the alleged nuclear threat from Russia, Ukrainian militants are freely hitting the largest nuclear power plant in Europe,” the Chechen leader wrote under the video. He explained that the footage was sent by the commander of the OMON "Akhmat" of the department of the Russian Guard in the republic Anzor Bisaev.
The Ukrainian "Energoatom" in its statement indicated that it was the Russian troops that fired at the station.
Since March 4, ZNPP has been under Russian occupation, but continues to work, despite regular shelling since mid-summer, in which the parties blame each other. On September 1, the IAEA mission visited the NPP. After that, several agency specialists remain at the station.
On October 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the acceptance of the facilities of the occupied Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) into federal ownership. He also instructed the Cabinet of Ministers to determine, for the period up to 2028, the features of operation, the issuance of licenses and other aspects of regulating the operation of the station.
On September 6, the IAEA published a report on the state of the plant after the completion of the inspection at the ZNPP. It states that all seven nuclear safety rules have been violated at the ZNPP and there is a risk of a "nuclear incident" if the shelling does not stop. Later in September, the IAEA Board of Governors adopted a resolution demanding that Russia end its occupation of the ZNPP in Ukraine and withdraw troops from its territory.