IAEA mission documents damage to Ukrainian NPPs’ critical substations as result of Russian attacks
IAEA experts have assessed the damage caused by the latest hostile attacks in November-December at energy infrastructure facilities that are critical for the delivery of nuclear power plant capacity to consumers and for ensuring the power supply of nuclear power plants' own needs.
This was reported by the Ministry of Energy, Censor.NET reports.
According to Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko, Russia's strikes on civilian energy facilities, including key substations, directly threaten nuclear and radiation safety throughout Europe. In this regard, it is very important to involve international experts to record the consequences of actual damage to the energy infrastructure identified as key to the safe operation of nuclear power plants.
"The coordination of actions between the Ukrainian side and international partners is aimed at reducing the risks of nuclear incidents in the context of Russia's military aggression against Ukraine," Halushchenko said.
Thus, while working at the designated facilities, IAEA experts accompanied by representatives of NPC Ukrenergo, NNEGC Energoatom and the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine documented the damage to electrical substations caused by Russian attacks in November-December. In particular, the experts were able to compare the intensity of the attacks and, as a result, the damage to the facilities from previous attacks. They also recorded the results of the restoration work and the state of the capacity of electrical substations.
The Ministry of Energy reminded that on December 12, the IAEA Board of Governors, at an extraordinary meeting initiated by Ukraine, adopted a Ukrainian resolution on the inadmissibility of Russian attacks on infrastructure critical to nuclear power plant operations. On December 13, Russia launched another massive attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, including substations critical to the operation of Ukrainian nuclear power plants.
Earlier, it was reported that due to renewed attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, five of the nine power units in Ukraine have reduced their capacity.
