Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant on the brink

In occupied Zaporizhzhia, occupation officials reported a drone strike on a bus stop in Enerhodar used by the staff of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP). The Russian-backed Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant Press Service claimed 17 people were injured and one killed, mostly employees at ZNPP. We could not independently verify the claim.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that there were 16 injuries and one death, with three people in serious condition. Ukrainian insurgents in Enerhodar published on their Telegram channel, 17 wounded and one killed, without any additional information.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi “solemnly calls on military commanders responsible for these actions as well as all others aiming on nuclear power plants and/or their staff, to put an immediate stop to these unacceptable actions, which are in absolute contradiction to the seven pillars and the five principles and constitute great risks to nuclear safety and security during the conflict.”

Russian occupiers continue to restrict IAEA inspector access to many areas within ZNPP, which has been reportedly militarized.

Currently, only the 330-kilvolt (kV) Ferosplavna-1 off-site power line is connected. Despite the successful repairs of the 750 kV Dniprovska power line in late June, Russian attacks on a critical 750 kV electrical substation prevented the line from being re-energized. ZNPP now operates with only a single connection to support site operations. Prior to 2022, it had ten.

All thermal power plants are supported by off-site power, as operating in “island mode,” where power for operations comes from the plant itself, is inherently dangerous. A test simulating the loss of off-site power caused the Chornobyl nuclear disaster in 2026. The loss of off-site power and the failure of on-site emergency generators also caused the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

At ZNPP, none of the reactors can be operated due to a lack of water and the loss of one of the cooling towers in a 2025 industrial accident. If all off-site power is lost, the facility would have to rely exclusively on on-site diesel generators. That happened in 2025, with the plant running for a historically unprecedented month on emergency power.

The destruction of a critical 750 kV electrical substation that supports Ukraine’s nuclear power plants has broken an agreement between the IAEA and Russia. If Ukraine’s entire electical grid were to collapse, there would be a significant risk of a nuclear accident at one of the four operating plants, or the Chornobyl nuclear site.

Even in cold shutdown, the coolant in nuclear reactors and spent fuel ponds must be continious circulated to prevent it from boiling. At ZNPP, a total power loss would lead to a meltdown in approximately 21 to 24 days, even though all six reactors are in cold shutdown. The spent fuel ponds would boil off in about 2 weeks. In hot shutdown, a meltdown would occur in less than 24 hours.

IAEA inspectors reported that after an 8 August low-voltage condition on the Ferosplavna-1 line, the emergency backup generators did not turn on. The team “is following up with the plant to assess the response of the plant’s systems to the grid event.”

Russian occupiers have increased the amount of water in the spent fuel containment pools, which will increase the time before it starts to boil off in the event of a complete off-site power loss and an extended failure of the emergency diesel generators.

We assess the following:

1. Our earlier assessment that there is almost no chance that Ukraine and Russia will agree to a durable ceasefire in 2026 was accurate, with Russia rejecting three new ceasefire proposals from Ukraine.

2. Our assessment that Russia is entering a renewed fuel crisis due to repeat attacks on refineries as they are repaired was accurate, with shortages spreading even faster than they did in June.

3. Our ongoing assessment that the number of Russian and Belarusian violations of NATO nations’ airspace and kinetic acts of hybrid warfare will continue to increase due to the tepid response by Ukraine’s allies continues to be accurate, with multiple airspace violations reported in Romania.

4. In our assessment, the decision by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to move forward with the nomination of Yevhen Khmara as the Minister of Defense will create more political tension between his administration and the Ukrainian people.

5. In our assessment, the new Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief, Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi, has significantly increased operational security, publishing significantly less information than his predecessors.

Today’s downloadable Russia-Ukraine War SITREP No. 1,071, for August 13-18, 2026, is 112 pages long and a full report.

It has been 4,562 days since Russia started the Russia-Ukraine War by invading Crimea and 526 days since Ukraine accepted an unconditional ceasefire.

You can visit our interactive Russia-Ukraine War Map for the latest tactical situation in the theatre of war.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has officially nominated Acting Defense Minister Yevhen Khmara to make the role permanent. The Verkhovna Rada is expected to hold a vote as early as 19 August.

After Khmara’s formal nomination, Ukraine’s former Defense Minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, called for Ukraine to hold elections despite Constitutional limits during martial law, and accused President Zelenskyy’s administration of not doing enough to find corruption.

A large protest in support of Fedorov is planned on Wednesday in Kyiv, outside of the Verkhovna Rada.

The scandal-plagued 425th Separate Assault Regiment Skelya has been made subordinate to the 1st Corps “Azov.”

Yuriy Butusov, the chief editor of Ukraine’s Censor.net, called for the defense of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk to be transferred to the 3rd Corps of the National Guard, under the command of General Andrii Biletskyi. Currently, the 3rd Corps is defending the Lyman AO.

The Main Defense Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine (HUR) said there are no signs that Russia is preparing for a ceasefire to end hostilities before the end of the year. The assessment was made after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov rejected three Ukrainian peace proposals, calling freezing the war on the existing frontline “unacceptable.”

There are new reports that US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will visit Kyiv on 24 August.

The SBU arrested 14, including a squadron commander in the Ukrainian Air Force, who were providing information to Russian intelligence on the location of Ukraine’s Air Force assets. Their primary task was finding the location of F-16s and Mirage-2000-5F planes, and the group was organized by a blogger in Lviv.

In a separate action, the SBU also detained a Russian agent who had registered 27 Starlink Internet terminals on behalf of the Russian military.

Ukraine reported that Patriot air defense batteries around Kyiv have been idle for over six weeks, and the country is out of interceptors.

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A Russian missile attack on Pechenihy in the Kharkiv Oblast killed ten and wounded at least 17. Russian drone strikes on the city of Zaporizhzhia killed one and wounded six. Residential areas were targeted in the attack.