Ukraine faces “potential nuclear risks” due to Russian military aggression, said Rafael Grossi.
Khmelnitsky nuclear power plant (KhNPP) on Tuesday, November 15, due to a Russian missile attack, lost access to the power grid. He temporarily switched to diesel generators as a backup power source. In addition, the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) also lost contact with one of its 750 kV transmission lines on November 15. This is what Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi said on Wednesday, November 16 , reports Interfax-Ukraine.
“The connection to the KhNPP grid was completely lost at 18:35 local time on November 15 after four operating power lines at the site were gradually lost for two and a half hours due to a missile attack on country’s energy infrastructure.During this period, two of the station’s reactors were shut down, leading to power outages in homes, factories and other facilities.
“This is a very disturbing event. It shows the potential risks to nuclear safety that all of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities face during this terrible war, not just the Zaporozhye NPP. While the external power supply to Khmelnytsky NPP has now been restored, yesterday’s power outage clearly shows that the nuclear safety and security situation in Ukraine can suddenly deteriorate, increasing the risk of a nuclear emergency,” said Grossi.
He recalled that the power outage at KhNPP occurred only a day after the IAEA announced that in the coming weeks, at the request of Ukraine, it will send nuclear safety missions to KhNPP, RNPP and Pivdenno-Ukrainian NPP, as well as . about Chernobyl.
Currently, the IAEA has a group of experts who are always present at the ZNPP.
The IAEA also noted that the Rivne power plant had its power reduced on Tuesday, and one of its four units was automatically shut down. However, already on Wednesday, RNPP increased the capacity of another of its units to continue supplying electricity to the Ukrainian grid.
As previously reported, the IAEA will send missions to four Ukrainian nuclear power plants.
Recall, the head of the Ministry of Energy German Galushchenko said that on November 15 Russia launched the most massive missile attack on the energy system of Ukraine since the beginning of a full-scale war.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.