«Russian strikes threaten nuclear safety»: IAEA comments on shutdown of Ukrainian nuclear power plants

The IAEA issued a statement after Ukrainian nuclear power plants suspended operations. Illustrative photo: South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant

On the morning of 7 February, Ukrainian nuclear power plants were forced to reduce capacity and suspend electricity production due to a massive Russian attack on energy infrastructure.

This was confirmed by Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in his statement on social media.

He reported that the Russian attacks had again affected the operation of Ukrainian nuclear power plants. According to him, strikes on power substations led to the shutdown of some power lines.

«Ukrainian nuclear power plants have again reduced their electricity production capacity this morning following the resumption of military activity by the Russian Federation,» the statement said.

Grossi stressed that the deterioration of the Ukrainian power grid could have dangerous consequences for nuclear safety and called for «restraint».

Earlier, the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy reported that due to massive Russian shelling of energy infrastructure facilities, nuclear power plants had to reduce their electricity generation.