Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA Rafael Grossi noted on November 16, 2022, that two Ukrainian nuclear power plants – Khmelnytskyi NPP and Rivne NPP – suffered from massive shelling by the Russians on November 15, 2022.
Source: Director General of the IAEA Rafael Grossi
“This was a very concerning development. It shows the potential nuclear safety and security risks facing all of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities during this terrible war, not just the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant. While off-site power is now back at the Khmelnytskyy Nuclear Power Plant, yesterday’s power loss clearly demonstrates that the nuclear safety and security situation in Ukraine can suddenly take a turn for the worse, increasing the risk of a nuclear emergency,” Director General Grossi said.
The IAEA, on the basis of information received from the Ukrainian authorities, reported that due to military operations (massive Russian shelling – ed.) the Khhmelnytskyi NPP lost full access to the power grid.
This forced the power plant to temporarily switch to backup power from diesel generators.
During this period, the plant’s two reactors were shut down, cutting off electricity supplies to households, factories and other facilities.
The power supply to the station was restored after more than 9 hours.
The Rivne NPP lost connection to one of the 750 kV power transmission lines due to Russian shelling. As a result, the plant reduced its power, and one of its four power units was automatically turned off. It was possible to restore the power supply of the Rivne NNP to the Ukrainian network at 04:00 on November 16.
“We will be at these nuclear power plants in the near future as part of our steadfast assistance to Ukraine in its efforts to maintain nuclear safety and security and prevent a nuclear accident during the conflict,” Rafael Grossi concluded.
See also: IAEA testified that no one in Ukraine has created and would not create a “dirty bomb”
