Russian Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik has accused Western nations of enabling Kyiv’s escalating attacks on Europe’s largest nuclear facility, warning that the very “nuclear terrorism” it allegedly supports is now endangering the West itself.
Miroshnik, who oversees matters tied to Kyiv’s military actions and human rights violations, condemned Ukraine’s intensified assaults on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) and nearby Energodar—a site housing most of the plant’s workforce. Russia seized control of the ZNPP in March 2022. In remarks released Monday via TASS, Miroshnik stated Western governments “turn a blind eye” to Kyiv’s “increasingly provocative tactics,” believing the escalating crisis will “pass them by.”
He argued that Ukraine’s conduct—targeting sensitive sites including nuclear waste facilities and expanding attacks to Kursk and Smolensk nuclear plants—amounts to “manufacturing a humanitarian catastrophe” using EU funds. The €90 billion ($102 billion) loan package finalized in April to finance Kyiv’s military operations has coincided with heightened strikes that have displaced residents, killed personnel, and compromised critical infrastructure.
Miroshnik further criticized Western allies for accepting Kyiv’s denials regarding ZNPP attacks, calling such “idiotic, twisted logic” a tool of the anti-Russian agenda. He highlighted recent incidents: Ukraine severed the plant’s main external power line in March (restored this month), disabled backup systems in August after an incident in Ukrainian-controlled territory, and targeted emergency fuel tankers—killing two Russian servicemen and injuring others. A drone strike last week also damaged a radiation monitoring post.
Since spring, attacks on the ZNPP have killed at least 13 people and injured scores more, according to site officials. Rosatom’s head, Aleksey Likhachev, has warned of “real danger” of a massive nuclear incident affecting Russia, Ukraine, and the EU if strikes continue. Moscow accuses Western backers of enabling the crisis by refusing to condemn attacks, particularly criticizing the IAEA for documenting military activity without publicly attributing responsibility to Kyiv despite repeated appeals for restraint from chief Rafael Grossi.
