Chernobyl nuclear power plant loses all external power, IAEA says

The Chernobyl nuclear power plant has lost all external power, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi announced today. He referred to extensive military activity that, he said, had affected several Ukrainian electrical substations vital to nuclear safety. Russia launched another large-scale attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure overnight.

The IAEA did not specify the military activity in its statement on X, but noted that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant had lost its external power supply and that power lines to other Ukrainian nuclear facilities had also been affected. “The IAEA is actively monitoring the situation to assess the impact on nuclear safety,” Grossi added.

Ukraine has three nuclear power plants in operation: Khmelnytskyi, Rivne and South Ukraine. Russia currently occupies the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is shut down, while the now-defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant is also located on Ukrainian territory. It was the site of the world’s largest nuclear disaster to date in April 1986. External power is needed there mainly to cool spent nuclear fuel.

Ukraine has been defending itself against large-scale Russian aggression for almost four years, with airstrikes by both sides forming part of the fighting. Since autumn, the Russian military has also stepped up its attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure again. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared an energy-sector emergency last week because of Russian attacks. Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said in this connection that Ukraine no longer has a single fully operational power plant. Russia launched another large-scale attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure overnight.

This is not the first time the Chernobyl or Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plants have been left without external power. Last October, for example, Ukraine reported that supplies to the Chernobyl plant had been interrupted following a Russian drone strike on a substation in the city of Slavutych. The Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was also without power at the time, with generators supplying electricity to cool its shut-down reactors.

Last February, Ukrainian authorities reported that a Russian drone attack had seriously damaged the new protective shell around the plant’s fourth reactor at Chernobyl. Moscow denied responsibility for the strike at the time. Russia briefly occupied the Chernobyl nuclear power plant after its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russian forces also seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant several days after invading the neighboring country and continue to occupy it. The facility is located near the front line, and both sides have since accused each other of shelling it.