Ukraine's operational nuclear power plants almost restore full capacity after recent Russian attacks

Ukraine's three operational nuclear power plants have restored most of their capacity following last week's attacks on the country's energy system, Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said on Friday.

Currently, eight out of nine reactors are operational at the Khmelnytskyi, Rivne, and South Ukraine nuclear power plants, with one reactor remaining shut down. Throughout the past week, most reactors have gradually increased their electricity production.

"However, the fragile grid situation remains a source of deep concern and we will continue to closely monitor relevant developments, including with follow-up expert visits to the electrical substations on which the nuclear power plants depend," Grossi said.

At the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant, the IAEA team was informed that a total of 17 drones were detected approximately 3 km from the site at the beginning of this week.

The situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant also remains unstable. Specifically, between November 21 and 23, the last 750 kV power transmission line of the ZNPP was disconnected, followed by a two-day outage of the backup 330 kV power transmission line.

The IAEA team at the ZNPP continues to hear explosions most days, mainly at distant locations from the site, with no reported damage to the plant.

The IAEA group is still being denied access to the external spare parts storage and diesel fuel depot. However, it was noted that a diesel fuel storage tank, damaged more than two years ago, has been repaired.

IAEA experts visited seven substations in September and October, finding "significant damage." They concluded that the ability to provide reliable external power supply to Ukrainian nuclear power plants has significantly decreased.

On the morning of November 28, Energy Minister German Halushchenko reported that Russia was attacking the energy system, leading to emergency power outages across the country.

Ukraine is initiating an extraordinary meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors on December 12 in response to Russia's strikes on energy facilities.