The Zaporizhzhia NPP Occupation Case: Legal and Governance Challenges

The report examines the 2022 Russian seizure of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) as a precedent that exposes critical gaps in international nuclear safety laws. It argues that existing frameworks, including the Pelindaba Treaty, are insufficient to address contemporary risks such as the military occupation of operational plants, drone warfare, and the targeting of supporting infrastructure like power grids and dams. The authors highlight severe human rights violations against ZNPP personnel and the limited enforcement mandate of the IAEA. To safeguard Africa's growing nuclear ambitions, the report recommends the African Union adopt a common position on nuclear safety during conflict, advocate for binding international regulations to prevent the occupation of nuclear facilities, and expand protections to include critical supporting infrastructure.

• The 2022 occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) is the first instance in history where a fully operational nuclear facility with irradiated fuel was militarily occupied, creating a dangerous precedent that lowers the threshold for safety violations.
• Existing international treaty law largely fails to prohibit armed attacks on nuclear facilities, with the Treaty of Pelindaba being a notable exception for the African region. While customary international humanitarian law and IAEA resolutions provide some guidance, they lack binding enforcement mechanisms.
• The IAEA's ability to ensure safety at the ZNPP is severely constrained by its limited mandate and dependence on the occupying power for access. The IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhya (ISAMZ) only began operations six months after the occupation and remains restricted to areas approved by Russian authorities.
• Nuclear personnel at the ZNPP have been subjected to systematic human rights and labour violations, including torture, kidnapping, and forced labour, often with the knowledge of the Russian state-owned enterprise Rosatom.
• Nuclear safety is threatened not only by direct attacks on reactors but by the destruction of critical supporting infrastructure. The ZNPP has suffered eight complete blackouts as of June 2025 due to grid instability, and the 2023 destruction of the Kakhovka Dam compromised essential cooling water supplies.
• The emergence of low-cost, hard-to-detect drone technology poses a new threat to nuclear security. Drone strikes have already damaged the ZNPP training centre and the protective shelter over the Chornobyl NPP's Unit 4.

APA

Bosman-Burnett, I., Kachur, D., & Lapenko, O. (n.d.). The Zaporizhzhia NPP Occupation Case: Legal and Governance Challenges. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Protecting-Nuclear-Power-Plants-Against-Military-Threats.pdf

Chicago

Bosman-Burnett, Isabel, Dzvinka Kachur, and Olena Lapenko. The Zaporizhzhia NPP Occupation Case: Legal and Governance Challenges. South African Institute of International Affairs, n.d. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Protecting-Nuclear-Power-Plants-Against-Military-Threats.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bosman-Burnett |first1=Isabel |last2=Kachur |first2=Dzvinka |last3=Lapenko |first3=Olena |title=The Zaporizhzhia NPP Occupation Case: Legal and Governance Challenges |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Protecting-Nuclear-Power-Plants-Against-Military-Threats.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bosmanburnettndzaporizhzhia, author = {Bosman-Burnett, Isabel and Kachur, Dzvinka and Lapenko, Olena}, title = {{The Zaporizhzhia NPP Occupation Case: Legal and Governance Challenges}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Protecting-Nuclear-Power-Plants-Against-Military-Threats.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }