IAEA chief warns attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure could cause nuclear accident

An attack on Ukraine’s electricity grid could lead to a nuclear accident. Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), warned of this risk on X after inspecting a power substation in Kyiv today that is important for the safety of Ukraine’s nuclear power sector. Ukraine is in the third year of facing Russia’s invasion. Among other things, the Russian army has occupied the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant during the war.

„A nuclear accident can occur after a direct attack on a power plant, but also after a disruption to electricity supplies,“ Grossi said.

Concerns about nuclear safety in the country are being raised not only by incidents at the Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe’s largest nuclear facility of its kind, but also by Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Nuclear reactors need electricity supplies in order to be cooled.

As for the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is controlled by Russia, both sides accuse each other of attacking it. The IAEA maintains a team of experts at the plant to monitor the situation. The occupied plant is shut down, but still needs power to run key systems such as reactor cooling.