--- title: "Russian Forces Now Occupy Europe’s Largest Nuclear Plant In Ukraine" description: "The director of the IAEA wants to broker emergency nuclear security talks between Russia and Ukraine at Chernobyl." date: "2022-03-04" modified: "2022-03-04" authors: - name: "Tyler Rogoway" job_title: "Editor-in-Chief" link: "https://www.twz.com/authors/tyler-rogoway" url: "https://www.twz.com/44576/russian-forces-now-occupy-europes-largest-nuclear-plant-in-ukraine" categories: - "Around The Globe" - "Europe" - "News & Features" - "Nuclear" - "Nuclear Power" - "Russia" - "Ukraine" tags: - "Grossi" - "IAEA" - "invasion" - "Nuclear" - "Nuclear Plant" - "russia" - "Ukraine" - "Zaporizhzhia" --- # Russian Forces Now Occupy Europe’s Largest Nuclear Plant In Ukraine ![]() *www.twz.com* After one of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant's buildings [was set on fire as Russia pushed]() its offensive, the Ukrainian facility is now under the control of Russian forces, according to Rafael Grossi, the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). He also states that Ukrainian staffers continue to keep the facility operating and that the entire situation is 'unprecedented' and extremely dangerous. He wants to meet with both parties at Chernobyl to secure a framework for security of all the nuclear sites in Ukraine to make sure there are no future attacks and to guarantee their general safety. He also notes that the projectiles that hit the facility were from the Russian military. With that being said, make sure to catch up with all the most recent past developments on the conflict in Ukraine [by checking out]() our last rolling coverage post. Now let's get to what else is new. ## The Latest ***UPDATED: 8:30 AM EST—*** NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has warned that the situation in the conflict is only likely to get worse in the days to come, including the expectation that Russian forces will not only step up their attacks across Ukraine but also start to employ heavier weaponry. Following an extraordinary meeting of NATO foreign ministers, Stoltenberg described Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as “the worst military aggression in Europe for decades.” *“With cities under siege, schools, hospitals, and residential buildings shelled. Reckless actions around a nuclear power plant last night and many civilians killed or wounded. The days to come are likely to be worse, with more death, more sufferings, and more destruction.”* However, Stoltenberg rejected the idea of establishing a no-fly zone over part or all of Ukraine, an idea that's been gaining some traction as of late and which the alliance has also now discussed. https://twitter.com/\_/status/1499732278267854848 In a sign that the Kremlin expects its forces to be engaged on the ground in Ukraine for the long haul, and that its losses so far have been worse than expected, a recent video appears to show Russian armor being sent to Ukraine from a garrison in Khabarovsk, in the Far East region of the country. The rail trip for these units is expected to take at least a week. https://twitter.com/\_/status/1499383504265785353 ***UPDATED: 7:00 AM EST—*** Russian military aircraft losses over Ukraine are continuing to mount, based on the latest imagery to emerge from the country. Earlier today, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense published a photo of the wreckage of a Russian Aerospace Forces Su-25 Frogfoot ground-attack aircraft, a type that has apparently already seen extensive use with both sides during the conflict. Russia's TASS news agency had already [reported]() an earlier Su-25 loss, and the wreckage of [another of the jets]() emerged on March 2. The latest aircraft in question — originally misidentified as a Su-34 — is one of Russia's more extensively upgraded [Su-25SM3]() variants. https://twitter.com/\_/status/1499680049443844098 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1216048161497780229 Unconfirmed reports suggest that a Russian Mi-8 helicopter that may have arrived on the scene of the crash to assist was in turn brought down by Ukrainian air defenses. At this stage, this is only speculation, however. https://twitter.com/\_/status/1499698448416886785 Only a few hours after the incident was first reported, the Ukrainian Ukrainian Ministry of Defense also published the following tweet, purportedly showing the survival gear of a Russian Su-25 pilot, including what looks like a cut-down AKSU-74/AK-74SU personal defense weapon, and a Makarov semi-automatic pistol. It's not immediately clear if this is related to the same Su-25 loss above. https://twitter.com/\_/status/1499751620913119240 ***POSTED: 5:00 AM EST—*** Here's our latest general intel assessment from the UK MoD: ![message-editor%2F1646385909665-fm\_mar4xiauxe\_p.jpeg]() **UK MoD** Here is the most recent control map: ![message-editor%2F1646385876077-fm7v8vpx0ai5ufh.jpeg]() **UK MoD** Russian forces are overcoming some civilian defensive barriers as they push into new areas: https://twitter.com/\_/status/1499673775348064260 More urban destruction: https://twitter.com/\_/status/1499659597015134208 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1499491610513580035 Russian forces continue to creep into areas close to Kyiv: https://twitter.com/\_/status/1499671258195271688 More oligarchs are vocally unhappy with the current situation: https://twitter.com/\_/status/1499606583046774784 So much equipment has been abandoned by Russian forces, including this fully loaded Grad launcher: https://twitter.com/\_/status/1499534563630006278 Getting lots of reports of people trying to leave Russia, which could get very tough to do in the not so distant future: https://twitter.com/\_/status/1499396368749588481 Another Russian Su-25 down: https://twitter.com/\_/status/1499678737033580546 Mauripol remains surrounded or contested (in some areas) with utilities shutting down across the city and constant shelling ongoing. Not a lot of video out of there in the last few hours, but here are some from the last 24 hours: https://twitter.com/\_/status/1499419325274464263 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1499476565931044864 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1499468036813856769 We got our first clear look at the state of the An-225 at Hostomel Airport and it isn't pretty. [See our whole report here](). ![message-editor%2F1646389272094-fm\_o7ubwyaaqrxi.jpeg]() **Twitter Screencap.** We will continue to update this post with new information until we state otherwise. *Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com* ## Author Tyler’s passion is the study of military technology, strategy, as well as foreign policy, and he has fostered a dominant voice on those topics in the defense and national security space. Tyler was the creator of the hugely popular defense site *Foxtrot Alpha* before developing *TWZ*, which he continues to lead as the Editor-In-Chief to this day. ### Author social links [Twitter]()