Ukraine says power units of 4 nuclear plants automatically disconnected due to frequency decrease

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukraine's national nuclear energy company announced Wednesday that all power units in four nuclear power plants in the country had automatically disconnected due to a decrease in frequency amid Russian strikes in multiple regions.

"Today, due to a decrease in frequency in the energy system of Ukraine, emergency protection was activated at the Rivne, South Ukrainian and Khmelnytsky NPPs (nuclear power plants), as a result of which all power units were automatically disconnected," Energoatom declared on Telegram.

Energoatom noted that the nuclear plants were currently working in project mode, without generating any electricity for the domestic grid.

"The radiation background at the NPP sites and adjacent territories has not changed, all indicators are normal," Energoatom said, adding that the supply of electricity from the facilities would resume “"as soon as the operation of the power system is normalized."

The company also said the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant had also been cut off from its external power supply.

"The station went into full blackout mode. All diesel generators are in operation. The radiation background at the Zaporizhzhia NPP site remains normal."

Air raid alerts were activated across all regions of Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, due to impending Russian attacks, according to local officials.

Kyiv Governor Vitali Klitschko reported that a residential building was hit by the strikes, with no further details on casualties.

Later, the Kyiv regional military administration announced that one person was killed and 20 people were in treatment.

Meanwhile, officials in the Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhzhia regions have also reported explosions.

No warnings were reported in the Crimea region, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014.

Air raid alerts are sounded in the country on an almost daily basis due to possible missile and drone strikes, which have targeted the country's civilian and energy infrastructure.