Did Ukraine leave nuclear plants unprotected from Russian strikes this winter?

A new blame game erupted in Ukraine after it was revealed that some of the nuclear facilities of the war-stricken country were left exposed to Russian bombardment this winter. The mismanagement put the nation on the cusp of a devastating blackout. Under the scrutiny of the lawmakers are Ukraine’s state-owned atomic energy firm Energoatom and Energy Minister German Galushchenko.

Both entities were accused of failing to ensure that the nuclear facilities were adequately prepared for Russian attacks at a time when the country was witnessing freezing temperatures. Several experts and lawmakers argued that the company did little to protect its nuclear facilities for months. The lawmakers slammed the firm for ignoring explicit orders from Ukraine’s government and policy changes that freed up cash to ensure that the sector was protected, Politico reported.

Meanwhile, the authorities also slammed Galushchenko for failing to pressurise the company to ensure the security of the nuclear facilities. While ignoring orders from the Ukrainian government, Energoatom pushed to expand a new nuclear plant that many lawmakers argue does nothing to keep the lights on in the short term.

Why it matters?

The issue is extremely important to Ukraine since the country’s nuclear facilities provide a bulk of its electricity, especially after the Russian forces frequently bombarded much of Kyiv’s energy system. Keeping the nuclear facilities unprotected left Ukraine Energoatom pushed to expand a new nuclear plant that many lawmakers argue does nothing to keep the lights on in the short term.

The negligence also came at a time when Ukraine’s intelligence services have warned for months that Russia is likely to order fresh strikes targeting critical nuclear infrastructure. “The delay in protecting atomic plants is hardly explainable,” said Anastasiya Radina, a lawmaker from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Servant of the People party, who chairs Ukraine’s parliamentary anti-corruption committee.

She emphasised that the idea of nuclear expansion project in such circumstances is “ridiculous,” Politico reported. The Ukranian politician pushed for a parliamentary inquiry into the delay. “It’s a legitimate question to ask,” she said. “What were you doing this whole time?” she furthered.

Meanwhile, Galushchenko vehemently denied that Energoatom had failed to build sufficient protections. “What is needed” to shield key infrastructure is protected,” he told Politico. “Everyone who said that nothing is protected in the nuclear fleet — that is a lie," he added. Energoatom on the other hand, is yet to comment on the matter.

The debate started after Yuri Nikolov, an investigative journalist and anti-corruption campaigner, highlighted that the firm did not start to take protection measures on time. “Energoatom simply did not want to engage in the complex construction of [proper] protection because it hoped that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin would not shoot at equipment near nuclear power plants," he said in a piece.

In March last year, Ukraine’s government ordered all state-owned energy firms to start building protection around their critical infrastructure. However, Energoatom waited until late September — six months later — to issue its first procurement contracts for more robust protective equipment, Politico reported.

“There was no reason for that delay,” said Oleksandr Kharchenko, head of the Energy Industry Research Center think tank. Hence, the lawmakers are not calling for a proper investigation into the matter.