Russian attacks dealt damage to critical substations of Ukrainian nuclear plants – IAEA

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts have assessed the damage to critical substations for Ukrainian nuclear power plants, which were sustained during the recent Russian attacks in November and December.

Source: Ukraine’s Energy Ministry

Quote: "Russia's strikes on civilian energy infrastructure, including key substations, pose a direct threat to the nuclear and radiation safety of all of Europe," said Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko.

IAEA experts visited the affected sites accompanied by representatives from Ukrenergo, Ukraine's national energy company; Energoatom, the Ukrainian state-owned nuclear power company; and the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine. The experts documented the damage to the electrical substations.

They were able to assess the intensity of the strikes and compare the resulting damage to previous attacks.

Additionally, the IAEA's representatives recorded the outcomes of the restoration efforts and evaluated the capacity of the electrical substations.

Background:

• In October, Energoatom identified seven substations crucial for transmitting power from nuclear plants, which are included in the work of the IAEA mission.
• Four of these substations were damaged during Russian shelling on the night of 16 November and the morning of 17 November.
• Further Russian strikes on Ukraine's power grid could result in an emergency at one of the three operational nuclear power plants still under Kyiv's control.

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