“Rosatom” turned Europe’s largest Zaporizhzhya NPP into a torture chamber – investigation

Law enforcement agencies and independent researchers, including international journalists, have collected numerous testimonies of torture and inhumane treatment committed by the Russian occupation forces with the knowledge of Rosatom during the occupation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP and the satellite town of the Energodara plant.

This is stated in the report of the Ukrainian non-governmental organization Truth Hounds, which is engaged in documenting and investigating international crimes committed during the Russian war against Ukraine.

The report describes extensive evidence of torture and inhumane treatment committed by the Russian occupation forces at the ZNPP and Energodar with the assistance of the Russian state corporation Rosatom. The report is based on direct and indirect evidence that covers: eyewitness testimony; photographic and documentary evidence; digital evidence; secondary sources such as reports by human rights organizations, news and mass media.

Eyewitnesses provided Truth Hounds with clear, unequivocal descriptions of torture and other crimes, including: aggravated assaults and severe beatings, strangulation, electric shocks, forcing victims to dig their own graves, mock executions, threats to rape victims and their relatives, keeping detainees in overcrowded cells without food, water and fresh air.

According to the testimony of the chairman of Energodar, Dmytro Orlov, since March 2022, approximately one thousand people have been detained and subjected to torture or ill-treatment in the network of torture centers in Energodar.

It has been confirmed that at least one person, a ZNPP employee named Andrii Honcharuk, who worked as a diver at the station, was tortured to death.

At the ZNPP, employees are simply abducted from their workplaces, taken to interrogations or tortured by FSB officers, often with the participation and knowledge of Rosatom employees or agents.

Witnesses interviewed by Truth Hounds report that although Rosatom employees are not usually directly involved in acts of torture, they are fully aware of the practice of torture and that “without their knowledge” the torture “would not have been possible.”

“This report draws attention to the terrible events at the ZNPP, analyzes the evidence in the context of the applicable legal norms,” Truth Hounds emphasizes.

Researchers have collected facts that prove that:

Rosatom’s control over the ZNPP violates international contractual obligations.

“Rosatom” facilitated and incited the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity, violating international humanitarian, criminal and human rights law.

“Rosatom” violated its obligations to respect human rights, set forth in the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business Activities in the Aspect of Human Rights, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, and the UN Global Compact.

At the same time, it is noted that “Rosatom” is financed by the Russian Federation. Without cooperation with Rosatom, the Russian Federation would not be able to operate the ZNPP.

It is also emphasized that during the preparation of the report, the Truth Hounds found evidence of other serious violations of international law, which will be thoroughly investigated and highlighted in subsequent reports.

The report is part of a global campaign led by Ukrainian and international lawyers, activists, diplomats and politicians seeking justice and accountability for the actions of the Russian armed forces, state and state-controlled agents for crimes of aggression, genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of ecocide committed since the beginning of Russia’s illegal aggression against Ukraine in 2014.