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March 20, 2022, 3:10pm. Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The CCTV cameras are filming as a shift of workers arrives at the facility, now occupied by the Russian army for over three weeks. These workers had volunteered to go to the occupied nuclear plant (and to end up in de facto captivity) in order to allow for the release of their colleagues, held at their workplaces with no proper rest or sleep since the occupation began.
As the buses carrying the workers arrive at the site, they are met by the Russian commanders. Most are wearing military fatigues with no insignia. Among them, there’s one person whose outfit contrasts starkly with the rest of the invaders. In figure 1, he’s to the right:
[Translate to English:] Figure 1. Still from SPECIAL OPERATION (2025), a film by Oleksiy Radynski
[Translate to English:] Figure 2. Still from the source footage for SPECIAL OPERATION
[Translate to English:] Figure 3. Nikolay Mulyukin at the Russia-occupied Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Still from the source footage for SPECIAL OPERATION
Who is this person sporting a NASA hoodie at the Russia-occupied Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant? Thanks to the numerous survivors of the Russian occupation of Chornobyl who kindly allowed us to record their witness testimonies, we’re now able to identify this person. Meet Nikolay Mulyukin of Rosatom, a Russian state corporation that specializes in nuclear energy.
[Translate to English:] Figure 4. Nikolay Mulyukin at the Russia-occupied Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Still from the source footage for SPECIAL OPERATION
Mulyukin arrived at the Chornobyl Plant along with the Russian military forces. According to numerous witnesses, he was tasked with overseeing this nuclear facility despite lacking basic knowledge about the specifications of this decommissioned nuclear plant, where the worst nuclear disaster in history happened in 1986. This nearly led to another disaster at the site, which could have far surpassed the catastrophe of 1986. In early March 2022, the Chornobyl Plant went into blackout for several days due to the Russian invasion of the region. Nikolay Mulyukin has been placed on a wanted list by Ukrainian law enforcement for his role in the military takeover of the Chornobyl Plant.
Another of Mulyukin’s missions – which had similarly failed – was to recruit the captive Ukrainian workers of the Chornobyl plant to accept the Russian occupation of their facility and get employed by Rosatom. This company is heavily involved with Russian war crimes in Ukraine. Its employees were instrumental during the occupations of two Ukrainian nuclear power plants: in Chornobyl and Zaporizhzhia. While the former was liberated in March 2022, the latter remains Russia-occupied to this day. The Ukrainian personnel of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant have been enduring extremely brutal treatment and abuse (including physical and psychological torture) under the occupation forces overseen by the representatives of Rosatom. Nevertheless, Rosatom has largely been exempt from sanctions so far. It continues to pursue international projects in the Global South, but also, for example, in France.
This, of course, is hardly any help in answering the most puzzling question: why, of all things, was this guy wearing a NASA hoodie in Chornobyl? This is something I plan to ask Nikolay Mulyukin at his trial.
Oleksiy Radynski
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