Ukraine's first deputy prime minister and energy minister, Denys Shmyhal, said on November 3 that Russian forces had directed three drones at a substation critical to the reliable operation of the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant. He said Ukraine had notified the International Atomic Energy Agency of the incident.
Shmyhal called the incident a threat to nuclear safety across Europe. His statement described drones being directed at the substation; it did not report a confirmed hit on the substation or damage to the nuclear plant's equipment.
The minister spoke after meeting ambassadors from the G7 and the European Union to discuss large-scale strikes on Ukraine's energy system. According to the Ukrainian side, the November 3 attack involved 289 drones, 17 ballistic missiles and 59 cruise missiles.
External power grids are essential to the safe operation of a nuclear plant, including when its reactors are not generating electricity.