Dozens of drones were spotted in surveillance zones at the Chernobyl and Rivne nuclear power plant sites last week, posing a direct threat to nuclear safety and security.
Points of attention
- Dozens of Russian drones detected near Chernobyl and Rivne nuclear power plants raise concerns about nuclear safety and security.
- IAEA Director General stresses the need for large-scale repair work to improve power supply reliability and enhance the resilience of Ukrainian nuclear power plants to potential incidents.
- Power grid attacks led to significant consequences, with nuclear power plants experiencing outages and reliance on emergency generators.
Russia sends dozens of drones to areas near Chernobyl and Rivne nuclear power plants
This was stated by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.
Earlier last week, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant detected 44 drones in its surveillance zone. On Tuesday last week, the IAEA team at the Rivne nuclear power plant was sheltering in a hotel when two drones were detected in the plant’s surveillance zone. Six more drones were recorded at the Rivne nuclear power plant during the week.
Grossi stressed that the Ukrainian power grid was again attacked last weekend, leading to significant consequences for several regions of Ukraine and the operation of nuclear power plants.
According to the statement, power lines connecting Ukraine to neighboring countries were disconnected, causing a cascade of outages within the country. As a result, one unit of the nuclear power plant disconnected from the grid due to voltage fluctuations and automatically shut down. Other units at various nuclear power plants were forced to reduce power.
The Chernobyl NPP site experienced a complete loss of external power supply, and for approximately one hour the facility relied on emergency diesel generators.
The IAEA Director General emphasized that large-scale repair work is needed to increase the reliability of power supply to Ukrainian nuclear power plants and strengthen their resilience to further incidents.
I once again call for maximum military restraint, as well as full compliance with the Seven Essential Principles, so that these necessary repairs can be carried out.
Grossi also pointed out that three IAEA teams are visiting 10 key substations critical to nuclear safety in Ukraine.
The two-week mission is assessing the continued damage to the grid, analyzing repair work, and identifying steps to enhance the resilience of the NPP's external power supply. One team visited Kyiv to discuss further IAEA support in the face of deteriorating grid conditions.
