6
Reactors
All in cold shutdown
2
Units licensed
Units 1 & 2, Dec 25 – Feb 26
0
In RF 2042 energy scheme
Absent from national plan
2×
Mariupol electricity
Capacity from ZNPP integration
4
US-fuel reactors
Under US-Russia negotiation
2026
Crypto launch planned
Kiriyenko personal project
Briefing
Read the full analysis →
The written briefing on Russia's tactical exploitation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
Licensing Trajectory and Reactor Status
Russia is systematically licensing ZNPP components under Rostekhnadzor - the Russian nuclear regulator - in a progression that constitutes de facto legal annexation of the plant. All six reactors remain in cold shutdown. Rosatom-certified personnel in place since autumn 2025.
Six reactor units - all cold shutdown
⬡ = licensed under Rostekhnadzor | ○ = cold shutdown, unlicensed | All 6 units in cold shutdown throughout Nov 2025
Licensing progression
Key admission: ZNPP head Chernichuk confirmed to TASS
3 that Rostekhnadzor “directly interferes in plant operation” — and that Russian specialists have been present since the first days of occupation. Rosatom-appointed operating organisation head Galeev corroborated this. The licensing trajectory formalises an operational reality that began in 2022.
The Core Paradox: Licensed but Not Planned
The analytically decisive finding: Russia is issuing 10-year operating licences to ZNPP reactors while simultaneously excluding the plant from its own 25-year national energy plan. This is not an oversight — it signals deliberate tactical exploitation rather than strategic integration.
Three tactical exploitation tracks
Analytical assessment: Russia is using ZNPP as a short-term resource extraction platform — for electricity, cryptocurrency revenue, and diplomatic leverage — without committing to its long-term integration into national energy infrastructure. The absence from the 2042 scheme may also reflect Russia’s own uncertainty about whether it will retain the plant under any future settlement. The Kiriyenko–Balitsky political link (ZNPP integration was a key project inspected by Kiriyenko in September 2025, leading directly to Balitsky’s Putin meeting
6) confirms ZNPP functions as a political asset as much as an energy one.
Safety Incidents
All six units in cold shutdown throughout this period. Power supply to the plant — for cooling and safety systems — remains the primary risk vector.
Critical pattern: Russian forces are firing from positions near the plant toward Ukrainian-controlled territory — placing the plant in direct proximity to active hostilities originating on the Russian-controlled side. The March 24 Dniprovska disconnection resulted from damage on the Russian-controlled side.
Grid Integration Timeline
Construction of new transmission infrastructure to connect ZNPP output to the Russian electricity supply system — independent of the Ukrainian grid.
Cumulative effect: Near-doubling of Mariupol electricity capacity. ZNPP lies within 120 km of the proposed manganese extraction zone and within the existing 110 kV/330 kV network serving Berdiansk and Melitopol — making it central to Russia’s industrial plans for the occupied region.