Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector pose a risk to nuclear facilities, Reuters’ Kiev says

KYIV (Reuters) – Monday’s Russian drone and missile attack forced Ukraine to disconnect several nuclear units from the grid, posing a risk to the nuclear power sector, a Ukrainian mission to the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Thursday.

“The Russian Federation continues to deliberately target Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with the intention of disrupting the operation of the country’s nuclear power plants, which provide the majority of Ukraine’s electricity,” a mission note said.

“Russian attacks pose a significant risk to the stable operation of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities and the safety of millions of people.”

On Monday, Russia carried out its “most massive” attack on Ukraine with more than 200 missiles and drones, killing seven people and hitting energy facilities nationwide.

Russia stepped up its attacks on Ukraine’s power grid in March, in what Kiev said looked like a concerted effort to degrade the system ahead of next winter, when people need electricity and heating most.

The mission said Monday’s attack was aimed at paralyzing the operation of Ukraine’s energy production facilities.

Ukraine has not said that Russia directly attacked the nuclear plants, but the strikes on transmission and distribution systems have forced the grid operator to reduce output at nuclear plants or even shut down nuclear units.

The mission said that following Monday’s attack, three out of four electrical units at the Rivne nuclear power plant were disconnected from the grid.

Another nuclear plant, the southern Ukrainian one, had to reduce its production.

“Due to fluctuations in the national power grid caused by the Russian attack, at 1710 (EEST}, power unit 3 of the Southern Ukrainian NPP was disconnected from the grid,” the mission added.

Ukrainian officials said the country had lost about half of its generating capacity so far during the war, and now most of its energy needs are covered by electricity produced by three Ukrainian nuclear power plants.