‘Risk of Catastrophic Failure’: Watchdog Wants Monitors at Ukrainian NPPs Immediately

Ukraine's power network is at “heightened risk of catastrophic failure” after Russia's missile and drone attack on Sunday, raising fears about the safety of the country's three operational nuclear power stations.

This is according to a Greenpeace briefing note prepared for The Guardian, Ukrinform reports.

The strikes by Moscow were aimed at electricity substations "critical to the operation of Ukraine's nuclear plants" and there is a possibility that the reactors could lose power and become unsafe.

Shaun Burnie, nuclear expert at Greenpeace Ukraine, said: “It is clear that Russia is using the threat of a nuclear disaster as a major military lever to defeat Ukraine. But by undertaking the attacks Russia is risking a nuclear catastrophe in Europe, which is comparable to Fukushima in 2011, Chornobyl in 1986 or even worse.”

The pressure group called on Russia to immediately halt its attacks on Ukraine's energy grid and for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to deploy permanent monitors in substations critical to the country's nuclear plants.

Though Greenpeace is an independent organization, it maintains contact with Ukraine's government. Official Ukrainian sources contacted by the Guardian acknowledged Greenpeace's technical analysis of the crisis

On Sunday night and early morning, Russia unleashed a barrage of more than 210 missiles and drones aimed at electricity generation and transmission targets around the country. Hours later, Ukrenergo, the country's main electricity provider, announced nationwide rationing to help the system recover.

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Explosions were heard in the cities of Kyiv, in Odesa and Mykolaiv in the south, in Kryvyi Rih, Pavlohrad, Vinnytsia in central Ukraine and Rivne and Ivano-Frankivsk in the west. Explosions were also heard near Ukraine's border with Moldova where Ukraine's grid connects with its neighbor and into the rest of Europe.

Though the attacks are not thought to have directly targeted Ukraine's three remaining operational nuclear power plants, at Rivne and Khmelnytskyi in the west, and the South Ukraine plant, Greenpeace says Russia was deliberately trying to increase the stress they are under by targeting substations that they are linked to.

The three sites account for about two-thirds of Ukraine's electricity because previous attacks by Russia have destroyed most of the country's coal and oil-fired plants, while some of the country's hydro facilities have also been damaged.

In the event of a loss of supply, Ukraine's reactors have on-site diesel generators and batteries to provide essential electricity supply with enough fuel for seven to ten days, but if fuel cannot be maintained or power be restored the consequences could lead to a nuclear disaster, Greenpeace said.