This is playing with fire: Russian missiles fall kilometers from Ukrainian nuclear power plants. Both Russians and Ukrainians know that the slightest deviation from course can have fatal consequences.
Ukrainian nuclear power plants are conducting emergency response exercises that have never been done before. But now they have become routine in connection with Russian attacks on the Ukrainian energy system. Employees must be able to reduce the power of the facilities to a minimum in a matter of minutes so that the supply of electricity to the national power grid does not stop.
At the Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plant The employees are also tasked with preparing for possible Russian interventions against the grid. The plant's chief engineer, Bohdan Lotocki, explained to DW: "Before the war, such things did not happen. Everything changed after the Russian invasion and the resulting power outages. We have very little time to react. If we have to reduce the power to 75 percent, we can do it in 30 minutes. If the external power supply is interrupted and we have to go off the grid, it takes a whole day to turn the power back on."
The Russian attacks on the power grid cause two problems that the engineers have to react to. In one case, the grid cannot absorb the electricity produced by the plant because the high-voltage cables and substations are damaged – this requires reducing power to avoid overloading the system.
In other cases, there is not enough electricity in the network, and if it is not enough to cool the nuclear power plants, diesel-powered generators are launched.
Playing with fire
Russia has not yet directly attacked Ukrainian nuclear power plants - radiation emissions could also be a threat to Russia. However, such an attack is not ruled out.
The war has been going on for four years, but all attempts to keep nuclear facilities out of range of combat operations have never been successful - Russian drones and missiles do not maintain distance.
In 2025, a Russian drone damaged the steel structure covering the crashed reactor in Chernobyl. In April, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office told Reuters that 35 Russian supersonic Kinzhal missiles had come within 20 km of the Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plant. They are extremely fast and a slight deviation from the course would be enough to hit the plant - intentionally or accidentally.
Dmytro Khruboy, who is responsible for security in the control room, recalls: "I was on duty when the air raid warning sounded, meaning there was a risk of a missile attack. We have clear instructions and we know what to do. We were lucky then. I hope it never comes to that, because we all know what the consequences of such a strike could be."
Russia is also at risk
But even without an immediate threat, the situation is tense - The grid is unstable and engineers are not allowed to leave the control room during their shift. "Before, we used to go out to eat at the table, now they bring our food here," Dmytro Khruboy told DW.
Many Ukrainians are happy that this plant is still operating - nuclear energy is important for the functioning of the country. It is part of the energy system that Putin has little chance of destroying without endangering Russia.
Last winter, when Russian attacks on conventional power plants reached their peak, nuclear energy provided 70 percent of Ukraine's electricity. As Pavlo Kovtonyuk, head of Ukraine's national nuclear power company Energoatom, explained to DW, Russia is capable of causing significant damage. "They know the grid very well - it dates back to Soviet times. They know where to strike to disrupt our electricity supply.“
"Nuclear terrorism"
They also know how to create fear – after passing within kilometers of nuclear power plants. Kovtonyuk calls this tactic “nuclear terrorism“ and explains:
"We cannot be sure that Russia will spare the facilities. We do not know what they are planning and we must prepare for the worst. The biggest problem is the psychological pressure on our personnel. And the people who maintain nuclear facilities must be calm and rested. But that is precisely not possible with sirens wailing“.