Nuclear meltdown fears explode after Russian strikes damage key power plants

Russian strikes at two nuclear power plants in Ukraine have sparked a safety warning from the world's nuclear energy watchdog. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned that military activity at Ukraine's South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant (SUNPP) and Khmelnitsky Nuclear Power Plant (KhNPP) was jeopardising "nuclear safety".

The organisation said: "The IAEA has been informed of military activity in Ukraine early this morning that has led to damage to substations critical to nuclear safety and security in Ukraine. Following this, IAEA teams at both South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant (SUNPP) and Khmelnitsky Nuclear Power Plant (KhNPP) have reported that each of the plants have lost access to one of their off-site power lines. Furthermore, the IAEA team at the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) have reported that the plant has reduced the power of two of its four units at the request of the grid operator. The team at KhNPP also had to shelter at their hotel for several hours this morning."

Ukraine has a total of four nuclear power stations with 15 reactors. The largest of these is the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which has six reactors.

It ranked as the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and the tenth biggest in the world. Since March 2022, it has been under Russian control and at the centre of several major scares.

The IAEA is conducting repair work at the Zaporizhzhia plant following a recent military strike that damaged a power cable.

Although the reactors have been closed down for over three years, they need a steady supply of electricity to keep them in a stable condition.

Electricity is needed to operate essential safety systems, including cooling pumps and other nuclear safety and security equipment.

The plant was served by two power lines, both of which have been damaged - one in May of this year and the other late last month.

IAEA engineers are continuing repair work around the clock to reconnect the plant to the energy grid.

"Restoring this power line is essential to improving the fragile nuclear safety and security situation at the site," said IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi.

The Zaporizhzhia plant was once capable of providing power to four million homes before Putin launched his full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Kyiv claims ownership of the plant, which has been a topic of negotiations between Donald Trump and Putin.

Trump has tried to suggest the US should take control of the nuclear plant, while the Kremlin has said it wants to restart all the reactors and connect them to the Russian grid - a task considered feasible only during peacetime.

External power has been lost at Zaporizhzhia nine times before. On each occasion, the damage was done in Ukrainian-held territory by Russian forces striking energy infrastructure across the River Dnipro.