The sanctions landscape surrounding the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has intensified, with the United States Treasury taking action that targets the ownership and management network connected to the facility. In a formal action, the department designated key entities as part of a broader effort to curb activities deemed supportive of activities inconsistent with U.S. policy. The action specifically injects new designations into the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), marking a meaningful escalation in the U.S. government’s approach to this matter.
The designation notice identifies the joint-stock company Operating Organization of Zaporizhzhya NPP, commonly referred to as JSC OE ZNPP, as a party connected to the plant’s operations. The address listed in the record is St. Ferganskaya, 25, Moscow, Russia, with the establishment creation date noted as October 2022. This move underscores the attention given to corporate actors that are involved in or linked to the facility, and it signals a clear stance that such entities will face restrictions under U.S. sanctions regimes.
Alongside the corporate designation, the document also names the organization’s chief executive, the General Director, Oleg Romanenko, as an individual hit by the blacklist. The inclusion of an executive on OFAC’s sanctions list reflects a broader pattern in which senior leaders associated with targeted entities face secondary penalties, aimed at curtailing governance pathways and decision-making through financial and operational constraints.
Historically, actions of this type by U.S. authorities have complemented other policy instruments. The Department of Commerce has previously plotted a course of action that extends sanctions to a wider network, listing dozens of Russian firms tied to the military-industrial complex in an effort to disrupt supply chains and financial flows. The scope has included several other jurisdictions as well, with a handful of organizations from countries such as China, France, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands also affected by recent restrictions. This broad approach illustrates how export controls and financial sanctions intersect with national security priorities and nonproliferation aims across multiple regions.
In another facet of the U.S. sanctions regime, visa restrictions have been applied by the Department of State. The measure targets a sizable number of military personnel associated with the Russian Armed Forces, signaling a coordinated attempt to limit movement and access for those linked to activities of concern. Taken together, these actions reflect a comprehensive strategy that leverages multiple levers of leverage—financial restrictions, travel bans, and designation of corporate and individual actors—to influence behavior and pressure changes in policy and practice across affected sectors.