MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th November, 2022) The situation with the disconnection of all nuclear power plants in Ukraine from external power supply is unprecedented, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi said on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Ukraine's Ministry of Energy reported that Russian missile strikes had temporarily disconnected all nuclear power plants as well as majority of thermal and hydropower stations from the national powergrid, which left millions of people with no electricity. Earlier in the day, Grossi said that external power supply has been restored to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP).
"While the world has been focused on the dangerous situation at Zaporizhzya, Europe's largest nuclear power plant, we must not forget the country's other nuclear facilities. Yesterday, for the first time ever, all of Ukraine's four operational nuclear power plants, Zaporizhzya, Rivne, South Ukraine and Khmelnytskyy, lost external power and were disconnected from the grid. They were all forced to rely on emergency diesel generators for the electricity they need to ensure their continued safety and security," Grossi said in a video message published on Twitter.
According to the IAEA head, such a situation is unprecedented and concerning.
"This unprecedented situation would have been unimaginable just months ago. It is deeply worrying," Grossi added.
Russia has been delivering air strikes on Ukraine's military and energy infrastructure objects since October 10, two days after the bombing of the Crimean bridge, which Moscow has blamed on the Ukrainian special services.
On November 1, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that about 40% of Ukraine's energy infrastructure had been damaged as a result of these strikes, leading to mass blackouts throughout the country.
