Ukraine's Nuclear Power Share Rises to 70% Amid Russian Strikes on Other Plants

Nuclear power now supplies 70% of Ukraine’s electricity, an increase from over half before the war. This rise is not due to new reactor construction but because Russian attacks have destroyed most other generation capacity, Energoatom informed Reuters.

Before 2022, thermal generation met up to 35% of Ukrainian demand, but strikes have severely reduced this. Ukraine began the war with four operational nuclear plants and 15 reactor units. However, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest, fell under Russian occupation and was shut down, removing 43% of Ukraine’s total installed nuclear capacity. Despite this loss, nuclear power’s share in the national grid increased because other energy sources collapsed faster.

In 2024 alone, 10 gigawatts of generating capacity, over half of peak Ukrainian consumption, were damaged or destroyed. Russia has targeted every major thermal and hydropower plant. Now, the vulnerability has shifted to high-voltage substations that transmit nuclear power to the grid. Russian attacks have already impacted the ability of the South Ukraine and Khmelnytskyi plants to operate at full capacity by damaging 750 kV and 330 kV substations, forcing operators to reduce reactor output. Ukraine warned the OSCE in January that Russia was preparing coordinated strikes specifically against this infrastructure.

First Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal stated that building a strategic reserve of 50–100 mobile substation units is a priority before next winter. Since 2022, Ukraine has also commissioned a spent nuclear fuel storage facility, ending its reliance on Russia for this service, and Energoatom plans for ten small modular reactors by 2050.