Ukraine shuts down 3 of 9 nuclear reactors for maintenance

MOSCOW. May 5 (Interfax) - Three of nuclear power plants' nine reactors in Kiev-controlled territory remained shut down for routine maintenance on April 30, Ukrainian media said with reference to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which cited its Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi as saying in a statement.

"At Ukraine's three operating nuclear power plants (NPPs) - Khmelnitsky, Rovno and South Ukraine - three of their total of nine reactors remained shut down for maintenance and refueling outages," the IAEA said.

As reported, Energoatom, operator of Ukraine's nuclear power plants, plans to continue to reduce the period of scheduled preventive maintenance at NPP units in 2025, as a follow-up to similar measures taken in 2023-2024. In particular, the duration of maintenance was cut by a further 59 days in 2024. The maintenance campaign was planned in a way that enabled all nine reactors situated in Kiev-controlled territory to stay in operation during the cold time of the year.

Refueling is the main part of scheduled maintenance at NPP reactors. Simultaneously with refueling efforts, measures are taken to restore equipment and bring it to the highest standard.

Energoatom currently operates nine reactors at the South Ukraine, Rovno and Khmelnitsky NPPs with a total capacity of 7,880 MW. All of them are located in Kiev-controlled territory.