International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi said on Friday that an IAEA team is “crisscrossing” Ukraine to assess the security of the country’s nuclear substations, as Russia continues to target Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
The visit, which began on Dec. 1, will last until Dec. 12 and focus on more than 10 substations (essential nodes in the electrical grid related to Ukraine’s nuclear power plants) across the country – assessing damage, reviewing repair efforts, and making recommendations to strengthen energy resilience.
“These substations are essential for nuclear safety and security. They are absolutely indispensable for providing the electricity all nuclear power plants need for reactor cooling and other safety systems. They are also needed to distribute the electricity that they produce to households and industry,” Grossi said in Friday’s statement.
The IAEA said that it had made several such expert missions to Ukraine since September 2024, when the substations became “increasingly affected by the military conflict.”
Russia has targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since its full-scale invasion, particularly in the cold season – regularly plunging thousands of people into freezing darkness.