Putin's capture of Ukraine's nuclear plant sets precedent

The Zaporizhzhia plant was seized by Russia in spring 2022 and a new report from Rusi says the risk of similar facilities becoming targets is only likely to increase

- Sam Kiley

Nuclear power stations across the world are increasingly vulnerable to attack after Russia’s capture of Europe’s biggest facility during its invasion of Ukraine and the “normalisation” of such assaults, a leading think tank will warn.

Vladimir Putin’s troops seized control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in spring 2022 in an attempt to disrupt Ukraine’s energy supply, and have used the site to create fear in the nearby Ukrainian-held city of the same name by setting off nuclear drills. A new report from the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), due to be published later this week, will warn that such targeting of nuclear sites is only expected to rise.

“As more countries become interested in pursuing nuclear energy as a source of clean and sustainable power, and as nonproliferation norms are increasingly challenged, the probability that nuclear installations will find themselves the targets – or unintentional victims – of the use of military force is likely to increase,” the report will say.

“Such military activity should not be normalised; however, political and military leadership must be ready to anticipate, mitigate and respond to potential future military attacks on nuclear installations.”