“Strikes on nuclear power plant substations could lead to a total blackout in Ukraine,” – says MP Bezugla

Possible strikes on the substations of nuclear power plants, which were spoken about by Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate, could have extremely serious consequences, up to a total blackout of the entire country.

This was stated by Member of Parliament from the “Servant of the People” party, Maryana Bezuglaya, on her Telegram channel.

According to her, Russia has already carried out strikes and in effect “tested” this scenario, but so far has not decided on a coordinated and full-scale attack specifically on substations linked to the operation of nuclear power plants, given the high technical, political, and international risks.

“Ukrainian nuclear power plants produce more than half of all electricity, but they cannot operate ‘idly.’ If, because of damage to high-voltage substations and transmission lines, it becomes impossible to feed electricity into the power grid, the nuclear power plants will be forced to reduce output or completely shut down individual power units,” Bezuglaya writes.

Meanwhile, former MP Viktoriya Voytsitska, who in the previous convocation held the position of secretary of the Verkhovna Rada committee on the fuel and energy complex, nuclear policy, and nuclear safety, stated that all of Ukraine depends on the operation of three nuclear power plants—Rivne, Western Ukrainian, and Khmelnytskyi—and if all three are taken out of operation, there could be problems.

At the same time, according to Voytsitska, with the help of partners a certain “reserve of equipment” was formed, which makes it possible to bring nuclear power plants back into operation more quickly in case of damage.