Ukraine initiates convening of IAEA Board of Governors due to attacks on energy system
Ukraine has appealed to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with a demand to urgently convene the Board of Governors in order to form mechanisms to prevent Russian attacks on critical infrastructure and increase international pressure on nuclear and radiation safety issues.
This was announced by Deputy Minister of Energy Mykola Kolisnyk on the air of the United News telethon, separately drawing attention to the Russian attacks on substations that provide power to the Khmelnytsky and Rivne nuclear power plants.
"This is not the first targeted strike on key high-voltage transmission lines. Damage to them forces nuclear generation to temporarily reduce output in order to avoid the risk of accidents and cascading outages in the system," he said.
Kolisnyk added that the Ministry of Energy is currently in constant contact with Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
According to the deputy minister, the situation in Ukraine’s power system remains difficult following the latest massive Russian attack.
"The enemy used 45 missiles of various types, more than 30 of which were ballistic and cluster munitions. This attack was one of the most technologically complex. Russia is using intelligence data to strike precisely at critical elements of the power system’s technological infrastructure," he emphasized.
Currently, hourly power outages are being enforced in most regions for all categories of consumers, along with power limitation schedules for industry and businesses. At present, up to four rounds of hourly outages are being implemented simultaneously. The most severe situation remains in Poltava and Kharkiv regions, due to electricity transmission deficits caused by damage to high-voltage lines.
Restriction measures are also in effect in Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia, Kirovohrad, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Vinnytsia, Cherkasy, Khmelnytsky, Zhytomyr, Kyiv regions, and in the city of Kyiv.
