Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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February 6, 2026 Peace and security
Last weekend, Ukraine's power grid was attacked again, leading to serious consequences for the operation of nuclear power plants, according to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi.
According to him, power lines connecting Ukraine with neighboring countries were shut down, causing a cascading outage of domestic power lines. As a result, one of the power units at one nuclear power plant was disconnected from the grid due to voltage fluctuations and automatically shut down. Power units at other nuclear power plants were forced to reduce their output.
The Chernobyl site experienced a complete loss of external power supply, and the facility operated on emergency diesel generators for approximately one hour.
Grossi stressed that such incidents are "a stark reminder of the ongoing risks to nuclear safety… arising from the deteriorating state of the electrical grid."
"To improve the reliability of power supply to Ukrainian nuclear power plants and strengthen their resilience to future disruptions, large-scale repairs are necessary," the IAEA chief added.
He again called for maximum restraint and full compliance seven principles of nuclear safetyto ensure that these works can be carried out.
IAEA missions to critical sites
Amid intensifying fighting, three IAEA expert teams are visiting ten substations critical to nuclear safety. The goal of the two-week mission is to assess the damage to the power grid and the progress of restoration efforts, as well as identify practical measures to improve the resilience of external power supplies.
One of the groups also visited Kyiv, where further IAEA support for the operation of nuclear power plants in the context of declining energy system stability was discussed.
This is the second such mission in the last two months: the previous one, in December 2025, recorded the cumulative impact of damage to the power grid on the operation of nuclear power plants and the working conditions of personnel.
Other incidents
The IAEA also reports additional signs of reduced power grid stability at the Chernobyl site, documented in late January. The agency's team was informed that on Friday, January 23, diesel generators at the New Containment Facility and the Interim Dry Storage Facility for Spent Nuclear Fuel unexpectedly started due to fluctuations in the power grid. Within minutes, the generators were manually switched to standby mode.
"This once again highlights the impact that military action involving the power grid can have on security systems," Grossi said.
Earlier last week, 44 unmanned aerial vehicles were spotted in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant's monitoring zone. On Tuesday, the IAEA team at the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant was forced to take refuge in a hotel after spotting two drones in the plant's monitoring zone. Six more drones were spotted there during the week.
Over the past two weeks, the rotation of IAEA staff at the Khmelnytskyi and South Ukraine NPPs has proceeded safely, Grossi reported.
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.