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4 nuclear power units disconnected after Russia's Aug. 26 strike on Ukraine

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4 nuclear power units disconnected after Russia's Aug. 26 strike on Ukraine
Illustrative image: This photograph taken on September 10, 2023, shows a general view of the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant, in Varash, Rivne Oblast, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Roman Pilipey/AFP via Getty Images)

Four nuclear power units at two different power plans were disconnected during Russia's mass aerial strike on Ukraine on Aug. 26, the Presidential Office head, Andriy Yermak, said on Aug. 29.

"We are talking about the power units 1, 3, and 4 of the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant, as well as the power unit 3 at the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant (in Mykolaiv Oblast)," Yermak said on Telegram, publishing a letter by Ukraine's diplomatic mission in Vienna to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Russia launched its largest aerial strike against Ukraine to date on Aug. 26, firing over 230 missiles and drones and yet again targeting energy infrastructure. The most recent Russian attack necessitated energy restrictions and rolling blackouts after a relatively stable energy situation in much of August.

Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said that nuclear generation currently covers up to 60% of the country's electricity consumption.

Apart from the Rivne and South Ukraine plants, the country also operates the Kmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant.

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the largest nuclear facility in Europe, has been under Russian occupation since March 2022. Kyiv has repeatedly accused Russia of using the plant for nuclear blackmail and endangering its safety.

Ukraine war latest: Russia launches largest aerial attack on Ukraine so far
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Martin Fornusek

Senior News Editor

Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.

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The Kyiv Independent staff documented what it feels like to live and sleep in Kyiv, Ukraine, as Russia intensifies its drone and missile attacks on the city. Filmed over several weeks in June and July, our journalists take shelter in bathrooms, basements, and parking garages as explosions ring out overhead.

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