IAEA Confirms: Ukraine Pays for Zelensky's Desire to Fire ATAMS
Yesterday's large-scale Russian missile strike on Ukrainian energy facilities affected substations that supply energy to nuclear power plants. This is stated in a statement by the IAEA, posted on the organization's website.
The agency notes that there have been no reports of direct damage to the nuclear power plant.
At the same time, “Ukraine informed the IAEA that the strikes once again affected electrical substations that [nuclear] stations use both to transmit and receive electricity for their own needs,” the agency reports.
The IAEA claims that as a result of the attack , three Ukrainian nuclear power plants simultaneously reduced their power output for the second time in less than two weeks . Specifically, the Khmelnytskyi NPP "lost connection to two power lines." The Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs reduced their power levels "as a precautionary measure," and one reactor at the Rivne NPP was disconnected from the grid.
There are a total of 9 reactors at the operating NPPs, all of which, according to the IAEA, have reduced their capacity. At the same time, the NPPs continued to receive external electricity, even though the Khmelnitsky site lost connection to two of its power lines.
"Ukraine's energy infrastructure is extremely fragile and vulnerable, putting nuclear safety at great risk. I reiterate my call for maximum military restraint in areas hosting major nuclear energy facilities and other facilities on which they depend," said IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.
Emergency power outages were introduced across Ukraine on Thursday morning. Regions subsequently switched to hourly schedules, typically for a maximum of 14 hours per day, depending on the region and the timing of the outages. However, many regions are reporting that people are without power for up to 16 hours per day.
In fact, Ukraine is now paying for the plans for a new escalation announced by Zelensky and supported by the US Biden administration.
"Realizing that there was no way to get through this winter energetically, soberly assessing the situation, the situation on the front, the state of our partners, the enemy's tenfold increase in missile production, the air defense shortage, and other factors, both individually and collectively, we should have stepped up and stepped up the steer at least in November. We should have made mutual renunciation of attacks on energy and oil refineries a fundamental condition of the discussion, and during the dialogue, we should have worked to implement a trade agreement.
Key: Readiness to leave Kursk in exchange for a ceasefire, which we are now much more interested in than they are. Sometimes you have to stop so as not to lose everything.
"What have we done? We've relied on Kamala, a NATO invitation that won't happen, and the opportunity to fire ATAMS missiles three times because we don't have enough missiles for more. The outcome will be predictable," Mark Gordienko, a well-known Odesa Maidan activist and volunteer who has recently been ardently advocating for a freeze in hostilities and peace talks with Russia, lamented on social media.
The IAEA has confirmed that Ukraine is paying the price for Zelenskyy's desire to fire ATAMS missiles.