Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi met with President Volodymyr Zelensky and assessed damage to energy infrastructure vital for nuclear safety during his 11th visit to Ukraine since the military conflict began almost three years ago, as part of the ongoing efforts of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to help prevent a nuclear accident.
Before his meetings with President Zelensky and senior government officials in Kyiv on Tuesday, the Director General travelled to one of the substations on which Ukraine's nuclear power plants (NPPs) depend to receive the off-site power needed to cool their reactors and for other essential nuclear safety and security functions and also to transmit the electricity they generate.
In recent months, Ukraine's operating NPPs - Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine - have several times been forced to reduce power output because of widespread military activities affecting the electricity grid, in which the substations form a key part. Most recently, Ukraine informed the IAEA that the NPPs temporarily lowered their production on 1 February before returning to nominal power again.
"The reason that this is so important, from the perspective of the IAEA, is because of the influence of this situation on the safety of the nuclear power plants' operation," Director General Grossi told journalists at the substation, which is among several such facilities that were further damaged and degraded in recent months.
"This compromises the nuclear safety of a power plant, and it could eventually lead to an accident," he said, noting the importance of a stable electricity grid for the nuclear safety and security of NPPs. "Having an external power supply is essential".
IAEA expert teams have travelled to nine different electrical substations across the country seen as critical for nuclear safety and security, including the one visited by Director General Grossi on 4 February. Five of these substations have been visited twice during IAEA missions in September, October and December 2024, with the teams observing a continued degradation at several facilities.
During their visits to the substations, the IAEA teams collect information, assess the situation and provide technical advice.
"The situation is quite dire. We should not, I think, hide the fact. And as you can see behind us, this infrastructure has been degraded," Director General Grossi said, standing next to a visibly damaged autotransformer.
Director General Grossi also noted the work conducted at this and other Ukrainian substations to help "preserve the stability of the grid", for example by replacing damaged transformers.
In his meetings with President Zelensky, Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha and Minister of Energy German Galushchenko, Director General Grossi also discussed progress in Ukraine's plans to purchase equipment from the interrupted Bulgarian NPP project in Belene for new reactor units being constructed at the Khmelnytskyy NPP. The IAEA is providing technical support and nuclear safety advice for this plan, Director General Grossi said.
At Ukraine's NPPs over the past week, the IAEA teams based there have continued to report on indications of military activities near the sites, constant reminders of the potential risks to nuclear safety and security.
At Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya NPP, the team heard multiple instances of explosions on most days, some very close to the plant. There were no reports of damage to the site.
Following the disconnection of the ZNPP's only available 750 kilovolt (kV) power line on 29 January, it was reconnected on 1 February. As a result, the site once again has two external power lines available - including one 330 kV - compared with a total of ten before the conflict.
The IAEA teams at the Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs and the Chornobyl site continued to report daily air raid alarms. The teams at Khmelnytskyy, South Ukraine and Chornobyl were also informed of drones being detected in locations near the sites.
At the South Ukraine NPP, a 750 kV power line that was disconnected on 29 January due to military activities remains unavailable.
