Ukraine's nuclear power sector is central to its energy system and national resilience, with nuclear plants generating roughly half to more than half of the country's electricity. (Oleksandr Kharchenko, Managing Director of the Energy Industry Research Center) (World Nuclear Association)
This reliance has grown as thermal and hydroelectric capacity has been heavily damaged by sustained attacks over the years, and Russia clearly understands this strategic advantage. So, it shifted focus from primarily targeting thermal and conventional energy facilities to the connections between nuclear plants and the civilian grid, aiming to undermine Ukraine's ability to distribute the very power its reactors produce.
On January 20, the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP) lost external power for hours
after Russian attacks damaged Ukraine's energy infrastructure. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, several Ukrainian electrical substations vital for nuclear safety were affected and the ChNPP lost all off-site power. Radiation levels remained within normal limits, and the backup systems kicked in and the plant was reconnected to the grid later that same day.
However, this technical outcome masks a deeper concern: how easily nuclear safety can be compromised without a single strike hitting an active reactor.
Even a non-direct hit on a nuclear infrastructure matters because nuclear facilities do not exist in isolation: their safety depends on civilian infrastructure - power lines, substations and grid connections that are not designed to withstand warfare. When those links are disrupted, even temporarily, nuclear security becomes fragile.
Ukraine states that these threats are systematic: President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia has already conducted reconnaissance of critical infrastructure sites, including potential targets linked to nuclear power plants, in preparation for possible strikes. He also said this reconnaissance indicates that Moscow is prioritising attacks over diplomacy
.
According to Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR), Russia is considering options to strike substations that supply power to the country's nuclear power plants, not as a conventional military necessity but as part of a campaign to pressure Kyiv into accepting unacceptable terms to end the war.
A nuclear accident has no borders.
Even without a precise strike on a reactor, attacks on infrastructure connected to nuclear power plants can leave millions in Ukraine without electricity and heating, at the same time creating the risk of nuclear incidents in the heart of Europe.
What Russia is doing to Ukraine today is a test of Europe's future security architecture. Ignoring this would set a dangerous precedent: that nuclear blackmail can be normalised as a method of warfare and become a model for other wars
.
The war must end not through concessions to fear, but when the aggressor no longer believes that chaos and threat of catastrophe are effective strategies.
UkraineWorld_Editorial
This publication was compiled with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation. It's content is the exclusive responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the International Renaissance Foundation.
