Approximately 65% of the population of the temporarily occupied Enerhodar in Zaporizhzhia Oblast have left the city. This was reported in an interview by the city mayor, Dmytro Orlov.
Scales of Evacuation
If before the occupation there were about 53,000, then around 65% have left and are now in territory controlled by Ukraine.
– Dmytro Orlov, Mayor of Enerhodar
Orlov specified that in the places where most people from Enerhodar settled, humanitarian hubs have been organized. They operate in Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, and Kyiv.
Waves of Evacuation
The mayor mentioned that people have been leaving the city in waves since the first day of the Russian occupation.
The first wave was the actual occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, when columns of over a hundred cars and buses left.
The next wave occurred when the fake elections and referendum started. Then, when the plant disconnected all its energy blocks from generation in September 2022. There was also a wave after the explosion in Kakhovka.
– Dmytro Orlov
Situation in the City
Enerhodar is a city in Zaporizhzhia Oblast under temporary Russian occupation. The occupiers use it as a military logistics base, specifically involving local enterprises for equipment repairs and storing weapons.
Due to managerial chaos, negligence, and constant shelling, there are regular power outages, problems with water supply, and environmental pollution in the city. Part of the population has left, others face pressure or coercion, while employees of the ZNPP encounter persecution and security risks.
Context
In May, it was reported that Russia had illegally detained at least 13 employees of the occupied ZNPP. Most of them received "sentences" from the court, and three went missing.
Before the war, Enerhodar was a city of nuclear workers with a developed infrastructure and over 53,000 residents. The Russian occupation has turned it into a military base with a humanitarian crisis and mass emigration of the population.
