Battle of Enerhodar

Last updated

Battle of Enerhodar
Part of the southern Ukraine offensive in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Russian bombardment outside Zaporizhzhia.png
Russian shelling of Enerhodar
Date4 March 2022
Location
Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ukraine
Result Russian victory
Belligerents
Russia Ukraine
The state of the battle of Enerhodar on 1 March 2022 Siege of Enerhodar.png
The state of the battle of Enerhodar on 1 March 2022

On 4 March 2022, a military engagement took place between the Russian Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of Ukraine over the city of Enerhodar in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, on the southern front of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Enerhodar is the location of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which generates nearly half of the country's electricity derived from nuclear power and more than a fifth of total electricity generated in Ukraine, [1] as well as a nearby thermal power station.

Contents

After attacking protesting civilians on March 3, Russian forces engaged Ukrainian forces at the nuclear power plant and took control of it, seizing Enerhodar the same day.

Background

On 28 February, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that its forces had captured the city of Enerhodar and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, [2] [3] though this was denied by the city's mayor, Dmytro Orlov and Energoatom, the Ukrainian state enterprise which operates the plant. [4] [5] Local citizens later barricaded the road to the plant and the entrance to the city, forcing the Russian forces to turn back. [6] [7]

On 1 March, Ukrainian officials stated that Russian forces had surrounded the city, with a Russian convoy heading into Enerhodar around 2:00 pm. [8] [9] According to Orlov, the city had difficulties obtaining food. [8] In the evening, a protest by local residents blocked Russian forces from entering the city. [9]

In the morning of 2 March, Orlov stated that Russian troops were again approaching the city. [10] Protestors again blocked the roads; protestors carried Ukrainian flags and used garbage trucks as part of the blockade. [11] Orlov told Ukrinform that two people were wounded when Russian soldiers allegedly threw grenades at a crowd of civilians. [12] [13] [14] [ dubious – discuss ] By 6:00 pm, the protest included two hundred residents, as well as power plant workers. Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, stated that the IAEA had been informed by Russian authorities that Russian forces were in control of territory around the nuclear power plant. [11]

Battle

At 11:28 pm local time on the 3 March 2022, a column of 10 Russian armored vehicles and two tanks cautiously approached the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. [15] [16] [17] The action commenced at 12:48 am on the 4 March when Ukrainian forces fired anti tank missiles at the tanks leading the column, and Russian forces responded with a variety of weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades. [16] Russian forces then entered the parking area near the front gate. Most of the Russian fire was directed towards the training center and main administrative building, but Russian forces also fired heavy weapons in the direction of the reactor buildings multiple times. [16] During approximately two hours of heavy fighting a fire broke out in a training facility outside of the main complex, which was extinguished by 6:20 am, [18] [19] though other sections surrounding the plant sustained damage. [16] Later that day, IAEA confirmed that the safety systems of the plant had not been affected and there was no release of radioactive material. [20]

Russian forces also entered Enerhodar and took control of it. [21] [22] Orlov stated that the city lost its heating supply as a result of the battle. [23]

Aftermath

Oleksandr Starukh, the governor of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, stated on 5 March that Russian forces had left Enerhodar after looting it and the situation in the city was completely under control of local authorities. However, Orlov denied the report and stated that Russian forces still occupied the perimeter of the city and the power plant, with local authorities still managing the city. [24] The Ukrainian military administration for the southeast confirmed on 7 March that Enerhodar was under control of Russian forces. [25]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zaporizhzhia Oblast</span> Oblast (region) of Ukraine

Zaporizhzhia Oblast, commonly referred to as Zaporizhzhia (Запоріжжя), is an oblast (region) in south-east Ukraine. Its administrative centre is Zaporizhzhia. The oblast covers an area of 27,183 square kilometres (10,495 sq mi), and has a population of 1,638,462.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant</span> Nuclear-power plant in Enerhodar, Ukraine

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in southeastern Ukraine is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and among the 10 largest in the world. It has been under Russian control since 2022. It was built by the Soviet Union near the city of Enerhodar, on the southern shore of the Kakhovka Reservoir on the Dnieper river. From 1996 to 2022, it was operated by Energoatom, which operates Ukraine's other three nuclear power stations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zaporizhzhia</span> City and administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ukraine

Zaporizhzhia, formerly known as Oleksandrivsk until 1921, is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper River. It is the administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia has a population of 710,052.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rivne Nuclear Power Plant</span> Nuclear power plant in Ukraine

The Rivne Nuclear Power Plant, also called Rovno is a nuclear power plant in Varash, Rivne Oblast, Ukraine.

State Enterprise National Nuclear Energy Generating Company "Energoatom", commonly known as just Energoatom, is a state enterprise operating all four nuclear power plants in Ukraine. It is the largest power producer in Ukraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enerhodar</span> City in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ukraine

Enerhodar is a city and municipality in the northwest of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ukraine. It is on the south bank of the Dnieper River, on the opposite side of the Kakhovka Reservoir from Nikopol and Chervonohryhorivka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zaporizhzhia thermal power station</span> Thermal power station in Enerhodar, Ukraine

Zaporizhzhia thermal power station is a large thermal power plant (DRES) in the purpose-built city of Enerhodar in Ukraine. It is the most powerful thermal power station in Ukraine, with an installed capacity of 2,850 MWe. Its primary fuel is coal. It can also fire natural gas and fuel oil, and has tank storage for these reserve fuels adjacent to the coal bunkers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear power in Ukraine</span>

Ukraine operates four nuclear power plants with 15 reactors located in Volhynia and South Ukraine. The total installed nuclear power capacity is over 13 GWe, ranking 7th in the world in 2020. Energoatom, a Ukrainian state enterprise, operates all four active nuclear power stations in Ukraine. In 2019, nuclear power supplied over 20% of Ukraine's energy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russian invasion of Ukraine</span> Ongoing armed conflict in Eastern Europe

On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which started in 2014. The invasion, the largest conflict in Europe since World War II, has caused hundreds of thousands of military casualties and tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilian casualties. As of 2024, Russian troops occupy about 20% of Ukraine. From a population of 41 million, about 8 million Ukrainians had been internally displaced and more than 8.2 million had fled the country by April 2023, creating Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capture of Chernobyl</span> Part of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone was captured on 24 February, the first day of the invasion, by the Russian Armed Forces, who entered Ukrainian territory from neighbouring Belarus and seized the entire area of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant by the end of that day. On 7 March, it was reported that around 300 people were trapped and had been unable to leave the power plant since its capture. On 31 March, it was reported that most of the Russian troops occupying the area had withdrawn, as the Russian military abandoned the Kyiv offensive to focus on operations in Eastern Ukraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Ukraine campaign</span> Theater of conflict in the Russian invasion of Ukraine

The southern Ukraine campaign is an ongoing theatre of operation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on 24 February 2022. The Russian military invaded Kherson Oblast in southern Ukraine from Russian-occupied Crimea, quickly entering Mykolaiv Oblast and Zaporizhzhia Oblast amid battles with the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

A military engagement took place between the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Armed Forces of Russia in the city of Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, on the southern front of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russian forces entered the city on 25 February and took control of its government buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on nuclear power plants</span>

Ukraine is home to four nuclear power plants, as well as the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, site of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. As of January 2024, both the Chernobyl and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plants saw battles during the war that resulted from the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The invasion has prompted significant discussion about the status of the power plants, including fears of potential disasters, and has also prompted debates about nuclear energy programmes in other European countries.

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting Russian occupation of multiple Ukrainian towns and cities, numerous cases of non-violent resistance against the invasion took place. Local residents organised protests against the invasion and blocked the movement of Russian military equipment. The Russian military dispersed the protests, sometimes with live fire, injuring many and killing some. Most of the large protests ended in March.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russian occupation of Zaporizhzhia Oblast</span> Military occupation and annexation by Russia

The ongoing military occupation of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Oblast by Russian forces began on 24 February 2022 during the Russian invasion of Ukraine as part of the southern Ukraine campaign. It was administrated under a Russian-controlled military-civilian administration until 30 September 2022, when it was illegally annexed to become an unrecognized federal subject of Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant crisis</span> Ongoing nuclear safety crisis during the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has become the center of an ongoing nuclear safety crisis, described by Ukraine as an act of nuclear terrorism by Russia.

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, several senior Russian politicians, including president Vladimir Putin, former president and prime minister Dmitry Medvedev, and foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, have made a number of statements widely seen as nuclear blackmail. The possibility of Russia using tactical nuclear weapons, and the risk of broader nuclear escalation, has been widely discussed by commentators and in the media. By 2024, many of the Russian government's "red lines" had been crossed without nuclear weapons being used in response. As well as nuclear weapons threats, the Russian occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has led to a crisis over the safety of the plant and the risk of a nuclear disaster.

This timeline of the Russian invasion of Ukraine covers the period from 24 February 2022, when Russia launched a military invasion of Ukraine, to 7 April 2022 when fighting focused away from the north and towards the south and east of Ukraine.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia and the surrounding region became the target of repeated Russian shelling and bombing as part of the southern Ukraine offensive from 27 February 2022 onwards. Thirty to forty percent of the infrastructure in the city has been destroyed.

References

  1. ↑ "SS "Zaporizhzhia NPP"". www.energoatom.com.ua. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  2. ↑ "Russian forces take control of Ukraine's Berdyansk, Enerhodar – Russian Defense Ministry". interfax.com. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  3. ↑ "Russia's war in Ukraine: complete guide in maps, video and pictures". The Guardian. 28 February 2022. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  4. ↑ Letyak, Valentina (28 February 2022). "Енергодар і Запорізька АЕС під контролем ЗСУ: мер міста просить не вірити фейкам" [Energodar and Zaporizhzhya NPP under the control of the Armed Forces: the mayor asks not to believe the fakes]. Fakty i Kommentarii (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  5. ↑ "Russia captures Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, gains air supremacy". Daily Sabah. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  6. ↑ "Enerhodar, i cittadini davanti all'ingresso città: barricate per proteggere la centrale nucleare" [Enerhodar, citizens in front of the city entrance: barricades to protect the nuclear power plant]. Repubblica TV – Repubblica (in Italian). 28 February 2022. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  7. ↑ Julia (28 February 2022). "Жители Энергодара без оружия остановили колонну российских оккупантов, – ВИДЕО" [Residents of Energodar without weapons stopped the column of Russian invaders, – VIDEO]. First Zaprohziya (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  8. 1 2 "Рада оборони Енергодара перейшла на цілодобовий режим роботи, місто в оточенні" [The Energodar Defense Council has switched to round-the-clock operation, the city is surrounded]. 061.ua (in Ukrainian). 1 March 2022. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  9. 1 2 "Mieszkańcy Enerhodaru wyszli na ulicę, żeby zatrzymać Rosjan. Bronią elektrowni jądrowej" [Enerhodar residents went into the streets to stop the Russians. They're protecting the nuclear power station]. Onet.pl (in Polish). 2 March 2022. Archived from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  10. ↑ "The mayor of Energodar says Russian troops approaching the city. The largest nuclear power plant in Europe (according to Wikipedia) is placed in this city". liveuamap.com. 2 March 2022. Archived from the original on 6 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  11. 1 2 Sangal, Aditi; Vogt, Adrienne; Wagner, Meg; Yeung, Jessie; Renton, Adam; Berlinger, Josh; Noor Haq, Sana; Upright, Ed (2 March 2022). "Live Updates – Russia invades Ukraine". CNN . Archived from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  12. ↑ "Russian military threw grenades at civilians who came out to defend own village". Ukrinform. 3 March 2022. Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  13. ↑ Orlov's Telegram Archived 3 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine , 09:59, 3 March 2022
  14. ↑ "Russia Ukraine conflict: More than 2,000 civilians dead in first week of invasion, says Ukraine". Youtube. Channel 4 News. 2 March 2022. Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  15. ↑ "Прямая трансляция пользователя Запорізька АЕС". youtube. Запорізька АЕС. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  16. 1 2 3 4 "Video analysis reveals Russian attack on Ukrainian nuclear plant veered near disaster". NPR. 11 March 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  17. ↑ "Security Council debates Russian strike on Ukraine nuclear power plant". UN News. 4 March 2022. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  18. ↑ "Ukraine nuclear power plant attack: All you need to know". Al Jazeera. 4 March 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  19. ↑ Update on the human rights situation in Ukraine (Reporting period: 24 February – 26 March) United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine
  20. ↑ "Update 11 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine". International Atomic Energy Agency. 4 March 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  21. ↑ "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, March 4". Institude for the Study of War. 4 March 2022. Archived from the original on 7 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  22. ↑ Vira Kasiyan (4 March 2022). "Енергодар: окупанти знову зайшли в місто". Lb.ua (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 4 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  23. ↑ Mazurenko Alyona (4 March 2022). "Енергодар залишився без тепла". Ukrayinska Pravda (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  24. ↑ "Российские войска покинули Энергодар: последствия обстрелов (уточнено)". Gazeta.ua (in Russian). 5 March 2022. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  25. ↑ "Ukraine after 11th night of war: Mayor killed, towns taken, Moscow promises civilian corridors to Russia". Baltic News Network. 7 March 2022. Archived from the original on 7 March 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.