Russian strikes on Ukrainian substations may provoke emergency at nuclear power plants

Further Russian strikes on Ukraine's power infrastructure could trigger an emergency at one of Kyiv's three operational nuclear power reactors.

Source: Herman Halushchenko, Ukraine’s Minister of Energy, writes Bloomberg 

Details: There are thousands of electrical substations in Ukraine, but 10 critical nodes related to nuclear power reactors are in danger. Their destruction might throw the country into darkness and cause a radiation emergency.

Russian assaults are putting nuclear threats closer to Ukraine's borders with the European Union, he said.

Quote: "They know exactly what they're doing," Halushchenko said. "It is no coincidence that they are attacking substations critical to nuclear safety."

Substations maintain stability by managing high-voltage power transmission. Nuclear facilities, unlike fossil or renewable sources, require a steady supply of power to maintain security systems operational.

Without this, the fuel in the reactor core can overheat, resulting in uncontrolled and potentially deadly radiation emissions.

Last week, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) took the unprecedented step of expanding its monitoring mission in Ukraine to a substation, highlighting the risk to nuclear safety.

IAEA inspectors are usually concerned with the accounting of nuclear materials rather than the management of national energy networks.

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