IAEA head warns of nuclear accident risk in Ukraine due to Russian strikes
Photo: Rafael Grossi (x.com/rafaelmgrossi)
Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy system could create a risk of a nuclear accident due to a failure in the supply of electricity from nuclear power plants. This could happen as a result of a strike on power substations, says IAEA chief Rafael Grossi.
Grossi arrived in Kyiv and inspected the distribution substation to assess the consequences, provide support, and help prevent this risk.
"I’m at Kyivska electrical substation—an important part of Ukraine’s power grid essential for nuclear safety. A nuclear accident can result from a direct attack on a plant, but also from power supply disruption,” he wrote.
I’m at Kyivska electrical substation—an important part of Ukraine’s power grid essential for nuclear safety.
— Rafael MarianoGrossi (@rafaelmgrossi) February 4, 2025
A nuclear accident can result from a direct attack on a plant, but also from power supply disruption. @IAEAorg is here to assess impact, support, & help prevent that risk. pic.twitter.com/Kd29wKVNhn
Grossi posted photos of himself visiting the substation with Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko and being shown what appear to be defenses against Russian strikes.
Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has regularly bombed Ukraine's energy infrastructure, including substations, although it has avoided direct strikes on Ukraine's nuclear power plants.
Last week, the IAEA announced that Grossi would visit Kyiv for high-level meetings to ensure nuclear safety in the war that Russia launched in February 2022.
In September, Ukraine and the IAEA agreed that the agency's experts would monitor the situation at key Ukrainian substations in addition to monitoring nuclear power plants.
More than half of Ukraine's electricity is generated by three nuclear power plants. Russian missile and drone attacks on substations threaten the stable operation of plants
The Kyiv substation allows excess power to be transferred from western Ukraine to central regions via the hundreds of kilometers long Rivne-Kyiv transmission line, helping to ensure the power supply of Kyiv and the surrounding region.
