MELITOPOL, 5 November. /TASS/. Governor of the Zaporozhye Region Yevgeny Balitsky said that Ukraine’s attempts to seize the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) led to significant losses among Ukrainian troops and senseless sacrifice of mobilized personnel.

“So-called attempts to seize the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant do not allow Western military commanders to sleep at night, leading to huge enemy losses and unnecessary sacrifices of mobilized Ukrainians,” Balitsky said. he said.

He added that the security of the ZNPP and its surroundings was reliably protected by the Russian military and that “the power plant personnel fulfilled their duties.” He stated that radiation levels at the power plant were normal.

Earlier, ZNPP spokesperson Yevgenia Yashina told TASS that “such reckless behavior of the Kiev regime” poses a threat not only to the plant, but also to the development of the global nuclear energy industry. He emphasized that ZNPP’s protection is sufficient and that both the facility personnel and the Russian Armed Forces are doing everything they can to ensure the security of the facility. The official added that International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors in the region were fully briefed. Yashina also reported that all six reactors at the facility remained in a “cold shutdown” state and no violations of safety protocols were observed.

Previously, Commander of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection (NBC) Troops, Igor Kirillov, stated that Russian forces prevented the attempt to seize ZNPP with an operation called “Short Circuit”. The Ukrainian regime launched this initiative after the failure of its plan to seize the Kursk nuclear power plant. Ukrainian special operations forces were supposed to receive the ZNPP with the support of ten multiple launch rocket systems and six unmanned aerial vehicles. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the operation was planned for October 11 and 12. On October 12, Ukrainian forces were planned to cross the Dnieper River and take control of the plant, but the plan was foiled by Russia’s preemptive actions.

Kirillov also noted that Ukrainian forces made similar attempts in 2022, when units of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine, supported by foreign mercenaries, attempted to cross the Kakhovka Reservoir to establish a foothold for a subsequent attempt to capture the ZNPP.