IAEA chief says Ukraine power conditions 'worrying'

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Rafael Grossi, the head of the United Nation's nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, said on Thursday that the situation with the disconnection of all nuclear power plants in Ukraine from the external power supply was "unprecedented."

Yesterday, Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy reported that all of Ukraine's nuclear power plants and the majority of its hydroelectric and thermal power plants were temporarily off the grid on Wednesday after they were rendered de-energized as a result of Russian strikes on crucial power infrastructure.

Reportedly, the South Ukraine Nuclear Plant in Mykolaiv Region was reported to have switched into emergency mode first. Later, the same was reported for Rivne and Khmelnytsky nuclear plants in the country's west. This was attributed to the Ukrainian side's failure to supply its substations, leading to a decrease in power consumption.

Eventually, all of the Ukrainian nuclear power plants were off the grid after the authorities took them off the energy system, and it was not known whether engineers would be assembling energy circuits and reactivating some of the nuclear power plants.

Earlier today, Grossi said that the external power supply has been restored to the Zaporizhye nuclear power plant (ZNPP).  

"While the world has been focused on the dangerous situation at Zaporizhye 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, Zaporozhye, Rivne, South Ukraine, and Khmelnytskiy, 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.  

My statement on the situation and recent developments at nuclear power plants in #Ukraine, part 1 of 2. pic.twitter.com/nVD4yYQZEA

— Rafael MarianoGrossi (@rafaelmgrossi) November 24, 2022

"This unprecedented situation would have been unimaginable just months ago. It is deeply worrying," Grossi said.  

During an interview with CNN Live, when asked where the shelling at Zaparozhye was coming from, Grossi deliriously responded, "It is very difficult for us to identify from inside the plant who is doing this. Our main goal is to get this to stop, and not to get into a game of attribution."

🇺🇳🇷🇺🇺🇦☢️⚛️The head of the IAEA,Rafael Grossi, cannot understand who is shelling the Zaporozhye NPP:

"It is very difficult for us to identifiy from inside the plant who is doing this. Our main goal is to get this to stop,and not to get into a game of attribution." pic.twitter.com/Fr8LIwDmrd

— AZ 🛰🌏🌍🌎 (@AZgeopolitics) November 24, 2022

This situation comes against the backdrop of recent heavy shelling led by Russia in response to Ukraine's terrorist attack on the Crimean bridge on October 8.

On November 18, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that about half of Ukraine's energy grid was out of order due to Russia's missile strikes.

The country has been experiencing frequent blackouts due to this. 

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