Rafael Grossi, the general director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), announced on Tuesday that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant has completely lost its external power supply. He conveyed that facilities “vital for nuclear safety” were hit, adding that the power lines leading to other plants were also damaged, notes Moscow Times.
We remind you that in February 2025, Ukraine reported a Russian drone attack on the outer isolation vessel of the power plant. At the end of December, the IAEA stated that the isolation structure had already lost its key radiation isolation functions.
On January 17, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported that the Russian army intends to attack the substations that power local nuclear power plants in order to trigger a complete power outage and force Kiev to surrender.
The aforementioned source claims that the Russian army is systematically destroying Ukraine’s power grid, intensifying attacks during the cold season. According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, by January 15, the power generation capacity had dropped to 11 GW, compared to the necessary 18 GW. Nuclear power plants account for 60% of total electricity production.
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