“WORST-CASE SCENARIO”: Russia Evacuates Third Wave of Staff from Bushehr Nuclear Plant
BUSHEHR / MOSCOW — Russia’s state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, has initiated a third major wave of evacuations from Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant following a series of “extremely dangerous” missile strikes near the facility. Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev warned on Thursday, March 26, 2026, that the situation at the plant is developing along a “worst-case scenario,” prompting Moscow to reduce its technical footprint to a bare minimum.
The evacuation comes as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that a projectile struck a structure just 350 meters from the plant’s operational reactor earlier this week.
The “Third Wave” of Evacuation
The exodus of Russian specialists has accelerated as the Friday, March 27 sunrise deadline approaches, with Moscow fearing the plant could be caught in the crossfire of a “Final Blow” campaign.
- Latest Numbers: A group of 163 personnel departed the site by road toward the Iranian-Armenian border on Wednesday morning.
- Minimum Presence: Likhachev confirmed that roughly 300 staff remain at Bushehr, but most are expected to leave shortly. The plan is to leave only a “few dozen” specialists to oversee equipment integrity and maintain safety standards.
- Suspension of Work: Construction on Units 2 and 3—which Rosatom was actively building when the war began on February 28—has been fully suspended.
“Playing Roulette”: The Proximity of Strikes
The Kremlin and the IAEA have expressed “outrage” over the increasing frequency of strikes near the coastal facility.
| Date | Incident Detail | Reported Outcome |
| March 17, 2026 | Projectile hit vicinity of Unit 1. | A structure 350m from the reactor was destroyed; no radiation leak. |
| March 24, 2026 | Second strike near metrological service. | No technical or human casualties; facility sectors remained intact. |
| March 26, 2026 | IAEA Confirmation | Director General Rafael Grossi warned that any hit “violates the seven pillars of nuclear safety.” |
“The aggressors are deliberately seeking to cause a large-scale nuclear catastrophe to justify their criminal acts… This would be a regional-scale catastrophe from which no one would emerge unscathed.” — Russian Foreign Ministry Statement
A “Hegemon Weakens” or a Tactical Retreat?
Analysts suggest the evacuation is a pragmatic move by President Putin to protect Russian citizens while maintaining a “symbolic” presence at Iran’s only operational nuclear plant.
- Safety First: Likhachev emphasized that “the safety of human life is our absolute priority,” noting that children of employees were evacuated before the kinetic conflict even began.
- Strategic Lever: By keeping a “skeleton crew” at the site, Russia retains a degree of influence over the facility’s operations, ensuring it remains a “Russian-guaranteed” asset even if the Iranian regime’s command structure collapses.
- Diplomatic “Hotline”: Rosatom has established a direct hotline between workers in Bushehr and their families in Russia to manage the psychological toll of the ongoing strikes.
What’s Next?
As the U.S. and Israel finalize plans for a potential ground operation on Kharg Island (located just 60km across the water from Bushehr), the nuclear plant sits on the literal front line. If the Friday morning deadline passes without a deal, the “Total Infrastructure Phase” could result in a total blackout for the plant’s cooling systems, a scenario the IAEA is desperately trying to prevent through emergency backchannels.