Three Ukrainian nuclear plants reduce output after latest Russian attacks - IAEA
Three Ukrainian nuclear plants reduced output after the latest Russian attacks (photo: Getty Images)
Three Ukrainian nuclear power plants were forced to reduce their output on November 19 after Russian forces attacked energy facilities around the stations, IAEA director general Rafael Grossi reports.
This concerns the Khmelnytskyi, Rivne, and South Ukraine nuclear power plants—four of the nine reactors reduced output after the attacks, which further destabilized the power grid.
Two of these plants — Khmelnytskyi and Rivne — had already reduced electricity production earlier this month due to attacks.
Meanwhile, the South Ukraine plant lost connection to a high-voltage transmission line yesterday. The plant reported detecting 11 drones during the night at a distance of one kilometer from the facility.
"The Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant is not the only plant affected by the instability of the electricity grid. Military activity continues to affect the power grid throughout Ukraine," Grossi said at the IAEA Board of Governors meeting.
Earlier, the Khmelnytskyi and Rivne nuclear power plants had also reduced output after an electrical substation was damaged during a Russian attack on the night of November 17.
Zaporizhzhia NPP blackout
Yesterday, November 19, Ukrainian energy specialists restored power to the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The plant's high-voltage line had been damaged for a long time due to attacks by Russian forces.
On September 23, Energoatom reported the tenth complete blackout at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant since the beginning of the full-scale war.
According to the company, Russian forces deliberately did not reconnect the plant to Ukraine's power system. At the same time, the only external power line linking the plant to the Ukrainian grid failed.
As a result, the plant was forced to switch to emergency diesel generator power.
On October 23, power to the Zaporizhzhia plant was restored, allowing it to exit the 10th blackout it had endured for the past month.
