Truth Hounds, with the expert support of Greenpeace Ukraine, has published a groundbreaking investigation into the role of Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom in war crimes, civilian repression, and unprecedented nuclear safety threats at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP).

The report, Seizing Power, documents how Rosatom has become an active participant in Russia’s military occupation of the ZNPP and the city of Enerhodar, coercing plant staff, undermining nuclear safety, and facilitating crimes against civilians. Greenpeace Ukraine provided key nuclear expertise and analysis that linked the evidence of Ukraine nuclear worker punishment and torture to the safety violations and increasing risks to nuclear safety at the plant. Representing the first case in the history of a commercial nuclear power plant being seized and militarized during an armed conflict, it exposes a dangerous convergence of human rights abuses, breaches of international law, acute nuclear safety and security risks, and the complicity of Russian state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom. Covering the period from March 2022 to June 2025, the report analyses the evolution of the occupation of Enerhodar and identifies at least 7 detention sites and 226 cases of unlawful detention of Enerhodar residents and ZNPP employees, the majority of which were followed by inhuman treatment and torture. 

The full version of the report is available here.

“Our research highlights how human rights violations are directly intertwined with risks to nuclear safety and security. We are witnessing an unprecedented situation, in which the personnel responsible for the safe operation of the plant have themselves become targets. The study also demonstrates the role of Rosatom in these developments, exposing the corporation’s involvement in international crimes and its role in establishing the occupation regime in Enerhodar, and highlights paths toward holding the corporation accountable.” – Roman Koval, Head or Research, Truth Hounds 

Key Findings

  • Corporate complicity in occupation: Rosatom representatives coerced ZNPP staff into signing contracts under duress, integrated into the occupation’s governance system, and used financial structures to entrench Russian control.
  • Weaponization of nuclear governance: Rosatom acted simultaneously as a commercial entity and an enabler of Russia’s military policy, erasing the line between civilian energy management and armed occupation.
  • Nuclear safety dismantled: By intimidating and persecuting licensed staff, Rosatom violated the IAEA’s Seven Indispensable Pillars of Nuclear Safety and Five Concrete Principles. The climate of fear, loss of expertise, and severed ties with Ukrainian regulators have gravely eroded the plant’s safety culture.
  • Risk of reactor restart: Despite unsafe conditions, Rosatom leadership has announced plans to restart reactors. Experts warn such actions could lead to large-scale radioactive releases with continent-wide consequences.
  • Global double standard: While complicit in war crimes, Rosatom continues to profit from nuclear projects in 33 countries, controlling 44% of global uranium enrichment capacity.

Greenpeace Ukraine: Rosatom’s occupation of ZNPP Is a “Ticking Time Bomb”

“Rosatom has violated every principle of nuclear safety and security. Truth Hounds’ evidence links Rosatom’s senior management directly to the abduction, detention, and torture of Ukrainian nuclear workers. By terrorizing the very people responsible for safety, Rosatom has turned the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant into a ticking time bomb. The equipment is deteriorating, Russian personnel are unqualified, and the real condition of the plant is being deliberately concealed. Europe must stop doing business with Rosatom and impose devastating sanctions on it,” said Shaun Burnie, nuclear specialist with Greenpeace Ukraine.

About the Report

The report Seizing Power was produced by Truth Hounds with the support of Greenpeace Ukraine’s nuclear experts. It is based on:

  • 39 interviews with survivors of detention and torture in Enerhodar;
  • Extensive open-source monitoring of local media, Telegram channels, and leaked databases;
  • Expert consultations, including former ZNPP staff and Greenpeace nuclear safety specialists;
  • Legal analysis confirming violations of international humanitarian and criminal law and identifying paths toward accountability.

This is the first comprehensive documentation of how a state nuclear corporation has become directly complicit in occupation, repression, and nuclear safety violations.

Facts about Rosatom

  • Operates nuclear projects in 33 countries and controls 44% of global uranium enrichment capacity.
  • Functions as a state corporation, combining commercial activities with political and military objectives.
  • Complicit in forced contract signings, occupation governance, and crimes against ZNPP staff.
  • Violated IAEA safety standards, heightening the risk of a catastrophic nuclear disaster.

Facts on Nuclear Risks at ZNPP

  • Russian forces have turned ZNPP into a militarized base, in violation of international law.
  • Staff have been intimidated, tortured, and coerced, eroding the safety culture required for safe reactor operation.
  • Plans to restart reactors under occupation risk a large-scale radioactive release across Ukraine and Europe.
  • A severe accident would have humanitarian, environmental, and economic impacts far beyond Ukraine’s borders.