IAEA launches inspection mission to Ukraine's nuclear plant substations
Photo: IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi and Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal (t.me/Denys_Smyhal)
The IAEA has launched another mission to Ukraine to assess the condition of the electrical substations that power the nuclear power plants, according to Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Denys Shmyhal.
"The IAEA has dispatched another mission to assess the condition of Ukraine’s electrical substations that ensure the stable operation of nuclear power plants. This is already the seventh such mission; the previous one took place earlier this year," Shmyhal says.
The agency’s team will visit 14 electrical substations.
According to the Minister, such assessments help strengthen the resilience of the power grid and improve nuclear safety. After all, Russia attempted to destroy these substations last winter, threatening the stable operation of nuclear power plants and nuclear safety in Europe.
"We are grateful to the IAEA and personally to Director General Rafael Grossi for their consistent efforts aimed at strengthening safety and responding to risks. We would like to extend a special thank you to the IAEA missions for their systematic work in Ukraine and their constant presence at key facilities," Shmyhal emphasizes.
Previous IAEA mission
During the previous mission in February of this year, IAEA inspectors were forced to wait out a Russian attack in shelters. At that time, IAEA experts inspected 10 substations that are critical to nuclear power generation.
In just one week, over 50 drones were detected near the nuclear power plants.
In the winter, Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy system created new serious threats to the safety of operating nuclear power plants. Due to the risk of unstable power supply, the IAEA even urgently convened an extraordinary meeting in Vienna.
