Russia hits Ukrainian nuclear plants as leaders worry it could spark ‘catastrophic’ incident

Russia’s latest drone and missile attack struck stations powering two major nuclear plants in Ukraine, putting Europe in danger of a “catastrophic incident,” Kyiv warned on Sunday.

Moscow’s overnight assault, which killed 12 people in Ukraine, also struck the substations that supply power to the Khmelnytskyi and Rivne nuclear power plant, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a statement.

“These were not accidental but well-planned strikes. Russia is deliberately endangering nuclear safety in Europe,” Sybiha alleged.

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“We also urge all states that value nuclear safety, particularly China and India, to demand Russia stop reckless attacks on nuclear energy that risk a catastrophic incident,” he added.

Sybiha also called on the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog group, the International Atomic Energy Agency, to hold an urgent meeting following the attack on the two nuclear plants.

Kyiv has repeatedly accused Russia of targeting the country’s nuclear power plants in a ploy to decimate Ukraine’s energy grid ahead of the harsh winter months.

Along with targeting the power plants in the latest attack — which saw more than 450 drones and 45 missiles fired — energy facilities in the Kyiv, Poltava and Kharkiv regions were damaged, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said.

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The damages have left thousands of people in the regions without power and water.

Emergency crews were deployed to stabilize the power grid, but Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk has warned that power cuts were needed to address the power outages.

Despite the work, blackouts are persisting in both Poltava and Kharkiv, according to local news reports.

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“The last strike was not even a month ago and the enemy has now struck all our generating capacity at the same time. The stations are on fire!” the state-owned Tsentrenergo energy company said in a statement.

Tsentrenergo, which generates nearly a tenth of Ukraine’s power, has been forced to halt operations at its plants in Kharkiv and Kyiv, with its power output currently at zero, the company warned.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Moscow’s latest attack on his country’s energy grid, calling on his western allies to inflict further sanctions against Russian oil.

“For every Moscow strike on energy infrastructure — aimed at harming ordinary people before winter – there must be a sanctions response targeting all Russian energy, with no exceptions,” Zelensky said on Telegram.

With Post wires