NetBlocks@netblocks⚠️ Update: The International Atomic Energy Agency says remote data transmission from monitoring systems at #Ukraine's mothballed #Chernobyl nuclear plant has been lost. The incident follows a loss of data from #Zaporizhzhia.

📰 https://netblocks.org/reports/disconnection-raises-fears-over-safety-at-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-power-plant-1yPjNKAQ…

📰 https://iaea.org/newscenter/pressreleases/update-15-iaea-director-general-statement-on-situation-in-ukraine…Quote TweetNetBlocks@netblocks · Mar 7The disconnection of fixed-line internet and some mobile service in and around the #Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in #Ukraine is raising concerns over public safety, with radiation levels no longer published and the IAEA unable to monitor.

📰 Report: https://netblocks.org/reports/disconnection-raises-fears-over-safety-at-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-power-plant-1yPjNKAQ…

2:17 PM · Mar 8, 2022

https://twitter.com/netblocks/status/1501291046533279744

>>15817828

https://netblocks.org/reports/disconnection-raises-fears-over-safety-at-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-power-plant-1yPjNKAQ

Disconnection raises fears over safety at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant

Network data from NetBlocks confirm significant disruption to telecommunications and internet service in and around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, southeast Ukraine from the morning of 4 March 2022, as Russian forces approached the facility. Further disconnections have subsequently been tracked limiting mobile connectivity in the region, leaving the site largely isolated as Russia moves to reinforce its position.

The disconnection of fixed-line internet and some mobile service in and around the #Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in #Ukraine is raising concerns over public safety, with radiation levels no longer published and the IAEA unable to monitor.

📰 Report: https://t.co/h7QnPQm2RD pic.twitter.com/PY9OKVUACc

— NetBlocks (@netblocks) March 7, 2022

The plant’s online radiation monitoring platform at npp.zp.ua also became unavailable with the service displaying an error from the 4th of March onward.

On the morning of Sunday 6 March 2022, further internet disruptions were registered affecting cellular connectivity in Energodar, the city supporting the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, as residents reported a widespread loss of mobile service:

⚠️ Confirmed: Network data show a loss a connectivity to the network serving Vodafone in #Energodar, southeast #Ukraine, where users report disruption to mobile services as Russian forces move to occupy #Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

📰 Background: https://t.co/S0qJQ7CbNv pic.twitter.com/jzumr9lip8

— NetBlocks (@netblocks) March 6, 2022

Later on Sunday 6 March 2022, the International Atomic Energy Agency announced that it was no longer able to receive “reliable information” from the nuclear plant, citing the contravention of number 7 of the indispensable pillars of the agency: “There must be reliable communications with the regulator and others.”

ℹ️ Update: The International Atomic Energy Agency has issued a statement on #Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, noting the contravention of number 7 of the indispensable pillars: “There must be reliable communications with the regulator and others.”

📰 https://t.co/SVmToR8I7u pic.twitter.com/vAEDiJICiZ

— NetBlocks (@netblocks) March 6, 2022

On 8 March, the IAEA raised additional concerns over the loss of telemetry transmissions from the mothballed Chernobyl nuclear power plant:

⚠️ Update: The International Atomic Energy Agency says remote data transmission from monitoring systems at #Ukraine's mothballed #Chernobyl nuclear plant has been lost. The incident follows a loss of data from #Zaporizhzhia.

📰 https://t.co/h7QnPQm2RD

📰 https://t.co/xpBU4PQUpd https://t.co/ALOEzwTjaH

— NetBlocks (@netblocks) March 8, 2022

The latest disconnections have raised concerns over nuclear security, and come amid a series of outages and network disruptions as Russia targets telecommunications infrastructure and as power is lost in regions seeing the heaviest combat.

Work is ongoing to assess the incidents and their contexts. Telecoms disruptions in Ukraine have so far been attributed to power outages, cyberattacks, sabotage, and kinetic impacts.

What’s happening in Ukraine?

Russian leader Vladimir Putin announced military mobilization on the morning of Thursday 24 February 2022, and artillery rounds were fired while troops moved into Kharkiv about 25 miles from the Russian border. As the security situation deteriorated over the subsequent days Ukrainian authorities advised civilians to get off the streets and seek shelter.

>>15817828

>>15817852

https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/pressreleases/update-15-iaea-director-general-statement-on-situation-in-ukraine

Update 15 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine

Ukraine told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today that it was becoming increasingly urgent and important for the safe management of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) to rotate some 210 technical personnel and guards who have been working there since Russian forces took control of the site almost two weeks ago, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.

In contrast to the current situation for staff at Ukraine’s operating nuclear power plants who are rotating regularly, the same shift has been on duty at the Chornobyl NPP since the day before the Russian military entered the site of the 1986 accident on 24 February, in effect living there for the past 13 days, the regulator said.

The Ukrainian regulator added that the staff had access to food and water, and medicine to a limited extent. However, the situation for the staff was worsening. It asked the IAEA to lead the international support needed to prepare a plan for replacing the current personnel and for providing the facility with an effective rotation system.

Director General Grossi has repeatedly stressed that staff operating nuclear facilities must be able to rest and work in regular shifts, stating this is crucial for overall nuclear safety. Their capacity to make decisions free of undue pressure is among the seven indispensable pillars of nuclear safety and security he outlined at a meeting of the IAEA’s Board of Governors on 2 March, convened to address the safety, security and safeguards implications of the situation in Ukraine.

“I’m deeply concerned about the difficult and stressful situation facing staff at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant and the potential risks this entails for nuclear safety. I call on the forces in effective control of the site to urgently facilitate the safe rotation of personnel there,” he said today.

The handling of nuclear material at the Chornobyl NPP has been put on hold for the time being, the regulator added. The site, located in an Exclusion Zone, includes decommissioned reactors as well as radioactive waste facilities. The regulatory authority said it could only communicate with the plant via e-mail.

To help protect the country’s nuclear facilities, the Director General has expressed his readiness to travel to the Chornobyl NPP, or elsewhere, to secure the commitment to the safety and security of all Ukraine’s nuclear facilities from the parties of the conflict.

The Director General also indicated that remote data transmission from safeguards monitoring systems installed at the Chornobyl NPP had been lost. The Agency is looking into the status of safeguards monitoring systems in other locations in Ukraine and will provide further information soon.

Regarding the status of Ukraine’s operational nuclear power plants, the regulator said eight of the country’s 15 reactors were operating, including two at the Zaporizhzhya NPP controlled since last week by Russian forces, and that the plants’ personnel were working in shifts. Radiation levels at the sites were normal, it said.