In its statement, the non-governmental organization strongly condemned the plans of rosatom and the russian government to restart nuclear reactors at the ZNPP.

After the destruction of the Kakhovskaya HPP on June 6, 2023, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant lost access to water from the Kakhovskaya reservoir. Six reactors of the Zaporizhzhya NPP have been shut down since 2022. In an analysis published in February 2024, Greenpeace warned that the nuclear plant would need a new pumping system to obtain water from the Dnieper riverbed near the Zaporizhzhia NPP.

“Since russia attacked, damaged and occupied the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant on March 4, 2022, the risk of a nuclear disaster has been high. But if the plans to restart the reactors at the plant are implemented, the level of risk and the consequences will be much more serious. The submission to the IAEA on May 14, 2024 causes outrage, because russia claims that its "main task is to prevent threats to the safety and security of the station created by the Kyiv regime". No - the threat of a nuclear catastrophe is completely related to the russian war and the occupation of the station, and this is another case of russian nuclear blackmail that can explode throughout Ukraine and Europe", says Sean Burney, Greenpeace Central and Eastern Europe nuclear specialist.

In the russian statement to the IAEA, information about the planned construction of a pumping station appeared for the first time. The station will be able to supply up to 18,000 cubic meters of water per hour to the cooling pond. Greenpeace's analysis points to two potential locations for a new pumping station.

In February 2024, Greenpeace CEE, in its analysis of the numerous obstacles to restarting the ZNPP, focused on the problem of water shortages and called on the Director General of the IAEA to take a firm stand against any russian plans to restart the Zaporizhzhia reactors, the public organization reminds. It adds that it issued a warning in March 2024 that restarting one or more reactors at the nuclear plant site could lead to a disaster bigger than Fukushima or even Chernobyl. On the 38th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, Greenpeace International appealed to the Director General of the IAEA, Raphael Mariano Grossi, with a request to assure him that the IAEA will not in any way assist rosatom in restarting the reactors at the Zaporizhzhia NPP.

rosatom has no legal authority to operate the Zaporizhzhia NPP - the plant is owned by Ukraine. rosatom also does not have a sufficient number of qualified and experienced employees familiar with the Zaporizhzhia NPP. For more than two years, the maintenance of critical installations was completely inadequate, and eight times the station lost all power outside the site due to war. Electricity is needed for reactor water cooling pumps and spent nuclear fuel, as well as for other safety systems, and remains highly unstable. The supply of water to the cooling pond became much more difficult after the destruction of the Kakhovskaya HPP by the russian armed forces. Restarting one or more reactors in such a situation is not only outrageous, but also demonstrates a flagrant disregard for nuclear safety protocols. The international community, including the IAEA, must make urgent efforts to stop the implementation of these plans", said Jan Vande Putte, Greenpeace Belgium nuclear energy specialist.

Greenpeace of Central and Eastern Europe stated that it supports European Union sanctions against rosatom and their nuclear partners in Europe and the world.