Four power units of Ukraine's nuclear plants disconnected during Russia's attack

This was reported in an official note to the IAEA by the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the International Organisations in Vienna.

As noted, at around 08:58, power units 1, 3 and 4 at the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant were switched off.

At 17:05, due to fluctuations in the national power grid caused by the Russian strike, power unit No. 3 at the South Ukrainian NPP also shut down.

At the same time, at 09:05 Eastern European Time, the power units of the South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant reduced their output to a total of 1,800 MW.

The Permanent Mission of Ukraine called on the IAEA to immediately send a Note Verbale to the Agency's member states about these outages and that Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure pose a significant risk to the stable operation of nuclear facilities and the safety of millions of people.

‘Unfortunately, neither the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine nor Energoatom informed the Permanent Mission of Ukraine in Vienna that this led to severe beyond-design transients in the reactors, and under appropriate conditions could lead to the opening of the safety valve of the primary circuit system with the loss of primary circuit coolant into the atmosphere of the sealed volume. It is lucky if the valve closes. Otherwise, it will be an accident with loss of primary coolant,’ said Olha Kosharna, nuclear energy and nuclear safety expert. 

She also added that similar difficult transitions had already occurred at Ukrainian power units during the Russian shelling on December 16, 2022, and February 10, 2023. According to Kosharna, the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate and Energoatom kept silent about it then.

• At night and in the morning of August 26, the Russian occupation army launched attack UAVs and various missiles at the territory of Ukraine. The attack resulted in deaths and injuries, as well as destruction in various regions. In total, on that day, Russia launched 127 missiles of various types and 109 drones at the territory of Ukraine.