Russia builds power lines to connect occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to its grid, NYT reports

Editor’s note: This is a developing story and is being updated.

Russia is constructing power lines in occupied southern Ukraine in an apparent attempt to link the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) to its energy grid, the New York Times reported on May 27, citing a new Greenpeace report.

The Zaporizhzhia plant, the largest nuclear facility in Europe and one of the ten largest globally, has been under Russian occupation since March 2022.

Satellite imagery included in the report shows that since early February 2025, Russian forces have laid over 80 kilometers (49 miles) of high-voltage lines between occupied Mariupol and Berdyansk, following the coastline of the Sea of Azov.

Greenpeace experts believe the construction aims to connect the new lines to a large substation near Mariupol, which could, in turn, be linked to the ZNPP, which is located some 225 kilometers (some 139 miles) away.

It sits in the city of Enerhodar in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Oblast, on the east bank of the Dnipro River, which remains under Russian control. Ukrainian authorities have no access to the site or its surrounding infrastructure.

Shaun Burnie, a nuclear specialist at Greenpeace, said that the satellite evidence offers the first concrete confirmation of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plans to restart the plant and permanently integrate it into Russia’s grid.

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