Despite years of warnings, Ukraine's Energy Ministry failed to adequately protect its nuclear power plants' switchyards, leaving them vulnerable to Russian attacks. These switchyards are crucial for transmitting power from reactors and for maintaining the cooling systems necessary for safe operation. While Ukraine's state energy company Ukrenergo has made progress in fortifying its substations, Energoatom, responsible for nuclear switchyards, only recently began construction, raising concerns about the country's energy security during the winter months.
KYIV, Ukraine – Moscow´s renewed attacks on Ukraine´s electricity infrastructure this winter have heightened scrutiny over the Ukrainian Energy Ministry’s failure to protect the country´s most critical energy facilities near nuclear power sites.
Only in the fall, after Ukrainian intelligence agencies warned of potential Russian strikes targeting the nuclear switchyards, was action taken to begin building protection – far too late in the event of an attack, analysts said. And while Ukraine’s nuclear plants have backup emergency power systems, these “are designed to provide temporary support,” Fowler said. “Without functioning switchyards, the backup systems alone would not be sufficient to sustain operations or prevent safety risks during an extended outage.”
Three layers of fortifications were ordered: sandbags followed by cement barricades capable of withstanding drone attacks and – the most costly and least complete – iron-and-steel-fortified structures. “We wrote officially to the Energy Ministry several times stating this problem over the last 12 to 14 months,” said Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the former head of Ukrenergo, who was fired in September and blamed for the failures to protect the energy infrastructure – a move widely criticized as politically motivated.
NUCLEAR POWER UKRAINE RUSSIA ENERGY SECURITY WAR
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