The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said it will expand its assistance to Ukraine by taking a more proactive stance to protect the status of vital energy infrastructure to ensure it does not impact nuclear safety.

The agency’s director-general Rafael Grossi said after meeting president Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on 3 September that the decision follows a number of missile attacks that have either directly caused the disconnection of several nuclear power reactors, or led to dangerous instability of the national grid,

An IAEA expert team will travel to some of the damaged Ukrainian sub-stations – electrical switchyards forming the backbone of the grid – that have been identified as essential for nuclear safety. They will assess the situation at these sites and report back to headquarters for possible follow-up actions.