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Investigation finds no evidence of Russia’s claims that Ukrainian attacks hit the nuclear power plant.
Published On 17 Sep 2026
Russia is sabotaging the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in occupied southeastern Ukraine and blaming it on Kyiv to “confuse and distract” from the threats posed by its “illegal occupation and war”, Greenpeace has warned.
In a report published on Thursday, the environmental group concluded that Moscow is “deliberately sabotaging” the plant’s electricity supply while engaging in a “disinformation campaign” about the attacks.
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Greenpeace Ukraine and London-based McKenzie Intelligence Services (MIS) analysed satellite imagery of the site and found no evidence of Russian claims that Ukrainian attacks had occurred.
“The satellite imagery and evidence is clear – Ukraine did not attack its own Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant electricity system,” said Shaun Burnie, a nuclear specialist at Greenpeace Ukraine. “This is part of a massive disinformation campaign, enacted by Moscow to confuse and distract from the real safety threats caused only by their illegal occupation and war.”
“The repeated loss of external power at [the plant] is the result of Russian military attacks on Ukraine’s electricity grid and sabotage operations at [the plant] and associated switchyards,” he said.
MIS analysed several satellite images provided by Airbus’s defence and space division of the 330 kV Ferosplavna-1 power line near the Zaporizhzhia plant. The images were taken between October 2025 and June 2026 and used to assess whether damage at the site was caused by Ukrainian artillery fire on February 10 and a Ukrainian drone strike on June 4, as Moscow alleged.
MIS concluded that the damage to the power line was inconsistent with artillery or drone strikes.
It added that artillery fire would usually leave a pattern of impact craters and dispersed damage across the targeted area, which was not visible.
MIS also concluded that the damage caused by an alleged Ukrainian drone strike on June 4 was already visible before the supposed attack.
According to the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Ferosplavna-1 is Zaporizhzhia’s only remaining external power line. Last month, the IAEA stressed the importance of a stable electricity supply at the plant to ensure nuclear safety.
Greenpeace echoed that warning on Thursday, saying that a stable electricity supply is crucial to “operate essential reactor safety systems, including pumps that provide cooling for nuclear fuel in reactor cores and spent fuel pools”.
