Prospect meets and stands in solidarity with Ukrainian nuclear power workers
A delegation of former Ukrainian nuclear power workers and trade union reps visited Prospect’s HQ at Rochester Row in London this August to share their heroic, yet harrowing, stories since Russian forces seized their plant in March 2022.
The Ukrainian delegation with Prospect’s Senior Deputy General Secretary Sue Ferns
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), in southeastern Ukraine, is the largest nuclear power station in Europe and was taken over by Russian forces within a few weeks of their invasion. It remains under Russian control to this day and no longer generates power though serious safety concerns remain.
However, it was the personal stories of what the workers had to endure that resonated strongest when they met with with Prospect General Secretary Mike Clancy and Prospect Senior Deputy General Secretary Sue Ferns.
The Zaporizhzhia workers and union reps of Atomprofspilka, the Nuclear Energy and Industry Workers’ Union of Ukraine, spoke of how 10,000 local residents and workers from the nuclear power plant formed a human shield in an attempt to save their town of Enerhodar.
Then, despite the plant itself coming under attack, being shelled and laboratories being taken over to house occupying troops, critical workers continued to report for work to ensure the safe operation of the plant itself.
The greatest concern though is over the illegal imprisonment and disappearances of at least 15 employees from the Zaporizhzhia plant.
There are dozens of other known local cases of individuals, including more power plant workers, ex-workers, medical staff, teachers and civilians and who have been either unlawfully imprisoned, being held waiting trial or sentenced to lengthy prison terms for dubious charges, listed as ‘espionage’ or ‘treason.’
A presentation from Khrystyna Levchenko, a former Atomprofspilka union rep at Zaporizhzhia, is available to view on the Ukraine Solidarity website.
A motion to support the imprisoned Zaporizhzhia nuclear workers, proposed by the National Union of Mineworkers, will be presented at TUC Congress 2026 in Brighton 13-16 September. The Ukraine Solidarity Campaign also plans to hold a fringe meeting.
Prospect members are also encouraged to sign and support a parliamentary petition calling on the UK government to create a path to settlement for Ukrainians living in the UK, who all currently face an uncertain future.
