Deaths in Ukrainian attacks on Enerhodar near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

The Moscow-appointed governor of the region, Yevgeny Balitsky, confirmed the figure of four injured. The casualty reports cannot be independently verified at present: the figures cannot be independently verified, according to the reporting. The city of Enerhodar is fully occupied by Russian troops, making independent on-site reporting impossible.

Accusations against Europe

Likhachev accused European politicians and international organizations of ignoring the attacks on Enerhodar or of hiding "behind the cloak of European political correctness." His statements were disseminated by the Russian news agency TASS.

In Russian attacks on Ukraine, at least four people were killed, according to official sources. In addition, according to Ukrainian figures, there were 14 attacks on Russian ships. As the Ukrainian military announced, a facility southeast of Moscow was also hit beforehand. The governor of the region stated that one person had been killed by Ukrainian drones.

Mutual attacks on energy infrastructure

According to Western observers, the Ukrainian side has for some time now targeted Russia's energy infrastructure as a means in the defensive struggle against the Russian war of aggression: "As a strategy against the Russian war of aggression, Ukraine has for some time increasingly been shelling Russia's energy infrastructure," according to the reporting.

The direct consequences for the civilian population in Enerhodar are significant. According to Likhachev, at least eleven residents of the city have been killed in Ukrainian attacks since the end of April. The city, which originally had around 53,000 inhabitants, is thus repeatedly the target of military confrontations, without independent observers being able to verify the situation on the ground.

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, in whose immediate vicinity Enerhodar lies, is the city's largest employer. The facility has six reactors with a nominal capacity of 6,000 megawatts and is thus one of the largest nuclear power plants in Europe. The plant is currently not generating any electricity, however, according to available information. Several Ukrainian attempts to recapture it have failed.

International concern exists primarily because of the risk of a nuclear incident at one of the largest nuclear facilities on the continent. A delegation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is permanently on site to monitor the situation and prevent a nuclear accident through its presence. The city lies near the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, as stated in the Deutschlandfunk report of July 12, 2026.

IAEA on site

This news was broadcast on July 12, 2026 on the Deutschlandfunk program. The reporting relies on information from Russian sources, as independent sources from Enerhodar are lacking. Western media are also dependent on reports from Russian-controlled areas when reporting on the situation in the city.

The background to the renewed escalation is the ongoing Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, which has continued since the spring of 2022. The region around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been under special observation for months, because both the Ukrainian and the Russian side accuse each other of attacks on the plant or its surroundings.

Deaths in Ukrainian attacks on Enerhodar near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant – this is how the report summarizes the core of the events. In a Ukrainian attack on the city of Enerhodar, occupied by Russian troops, four people were killed and four injured, according to Russian reports. In total, the Russian figures add up to at least seven dead.

Situation of the civilian population

The residents of Enerhodar have been living under Russian occupation for years. Reports on the supply situation, medical care, and the safety of the civilian population are scarce and come almost exclusively from official Russian sources, whose information cannot be independently verified.

Possible retaliatory strikes and further escalation in the region are considered likely. Observers point out that both sides have intensified their attacks on each other's energy infrastructure in recent months, further increasing the risk of an expansion of the conflict.

The international community is watching the developments with great concern. The presence of the IAEA delegation is intended to prevent military confrontations in the immediate vicinity of the nuclear facility from leading to a nuclear catastrophe. At the same time, the humanitarian situation of the civilian population in Enerhodar remains largely in the dark.