
by Claire Schaeffer-Duffy
Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. Built in the 1980’s, it provided one fifth of the country’s electrical supply pre-war. Once a source of local pride, the plant, now under Russian control, looms large as a regional threat, for it sits on the war’s frontlines. The facility has endured repeated shelling- each side blaming the other. The attacks have damaged electrical power lines, forcing the plant to operate on back-up diesel generators multiple times to maintain its cooling systems and avoid a nuclear meltdown.
The ZNPP’s hazardous predicament has been a source of ongoing concern for Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Last fall, Grossi negotiated access for international inspectors to monitor the plant. He has also tried to achieve a no-fire zone around the facility, so far without success.
Grossi’s efforts inspired the Zaporizhzhia Protection Project, an innovative peace initiative that seeks to engage unarmed civilians in the maintenance of a conflict-free zone around the ZNPP. The hope here is that in establishing a local ceasefire zone, the project will give an example to larger possibilities. The project is the brain child of Dr. John Reuwer, a retired Emergency Room physician and board member of World Beyond War with experience serving on domestic and international peace teams. As an ER doctor, Reuwer spent much of his time responding to accidents, he said. “These days, I am more interested in prevention.”
In April, ZPP sent a small exploratory team to Ukraine comprised of Dr. Reuwer, Charles Johnson of Chicago Area Peace Action, Peter Lumsdaine, a peace advocate from Washington state, and myself. We traveled on behalf of a cohort of international volunteers who for months have attended online trainings in Unarmed Civilian Protection (UCP). Our mission was to ask Ukrainians living in the environs of the nuclear power plant for their views on protecting the plant through non-military means. Amid dire warnings of an impending spring offensive, our team traveled to Kyiv and the eastern cities of Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia, before ultimately reaching our intended destination of Marhanets, a Ukrainian-controlled town located 8 kilometers from the war’s frontlines and directly across from the Zaporizhzhia power plant.
During the course of our brief travel, we interviewed, formally and informally, more than thirty Ukrainians including displaced residents from Enerhodar, the city adjacent to the nuclear power plant; journalists; a soldier; a regional administrator; the deputy mayor of Marhanets; and numerous faith leaders. It is impossible to summarize their varied views in this short article. Distrust of the Russians seemed universal, and many we spoke to hoped the Ukrainian military would retake the plant. But people also expressed gratitude for our concern about their safety and curiosity about non-military means for protecting the ZNPP. “Do you have a step-by-step plan?” asked the deputy mayor of Marhanets. “We need a week to discuss these ideas,” said two members of the town’s territorial defense unit.
The Zaporizhzhia Protection Project represents a daring application of a nonviolent strategy that dates back to the wars in Central America of the 1980’s when unarmed internationals accompanied human rights defenders to prevent their assassination. UCP has evolved significantly since then and has been used to successfully protect communities under threat, facilitate fragile peace accords, and prevent a return to violence. Whether it can be employed amid the fluid dynamics of a hot war remains an open question. As of this writing Russian-controlled towns adjacent to the nuclear plant are evacuating, which suggests a Ukrainian military assault may be imminent. Meanwhile, the ZPP continues to prepare a team of non-NATO volunteers for an exploratory visit to Russian-controlled areas to query local views on protecting the plant.
Ending the war in Ukraine will require varied efforts. ZPP’s approach seeks to give agency to unarmed civilians and their capacity to create safe zones even amid war. The project’s best leverage is its humanitarian goal, which does not take sides in the conflict. Regardless of one’s allegiance in the war, no one wants the Zaporizhzhia plant to blow. For more information on the project: worldbeyondwar.org/zap.
Claire Schaeffer-Duffy is a founding member of the SS. Francis and Therese Catholic Worker House in Worcester, program director of the Center for Nonviolent Solutions, and a contributor to the National Catholic Reporter. She joined MAPA’s Board of Directors in April 2023.