Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper told Newsmax Monday that the West should be "concerned" and "vigilant" about the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, especially given the reporting that Russia has evacuated the surrounding area.
"I think the concern is that, should there be a Ukrainian counteroffensive, which we expect sometime soon, that either the Russians would force the evacuation of Ukrainian workers at the plant or the Ukrainian workers themselves would flee out of concern because they currently are maintaining the facility, keeping it safe and secure and doing all that needs to be done to prevent any type of problems," Esper said during an appearance on Newsmax's "The Record with Greta Van Susteren." "So, I think that is the immediate concern. My sense is that the Ukrainian army is not going to target this plant. Of course, Ukraine relies on this plant for about 20% of its power. It also doesn't want to create any radioactive disaster on its own territory. So my sense is they would avoid it and not cause any harm to the plant as they push on this offensive to force the Russians out."
Responding to a report that Ukrainian officials are worried about an attack on the plant by Russian forces, Esper said, "I don't think we should rest comfortably."
"I think we should be concerned, be vigilant," he said. "I would be concerned about some type of accident. Some type of sabotage is possible; I don't think it's in Russian interests either, though, to do that. I think to some degree they rely on the power to fuel Crimea. And of course, any type of radioactive cloud might pass toward Crimea, so I'm not sure it's in Russian interests either to harm the plant, but we need to be very careful in this next phase of the conflict to ensure that it's maintained, it's kept safe and it stays free of any type of conflict."
"I think there are a lot of mixed reports coming out of the area too, that he's forcing the evacuation so that he can move civilians back to Russian defensive positions to use them as cover," Esper continued. "Another storyline is he's moving the civilians out because he's afraid of the partisan warfare that they may conduct against the Russians, so there are a number of theories out there about what he may or may not be doing and why. There are also reports that Russian soldiers are dressing like civilians to evacuate the area, so it's a mixed bag of what's coming out of the reporting."
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) met with officials from Russia's military and state atomic energy company last week to talk about protecting the Zaporizhzhia plant amid the ongoing conflict.
"I met high level officials from several Russian agencies in Kaliningrad," IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said on Twitter. "I continue my efforts to protect the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant," he said, emphasizing that this was "in everyone's interest."
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.