The South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant has declared and EMERGENCY and gone into emergency shutdown after being damaged by Ukrainian army shelling.

The South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant, also known as the Pivdennoukrainsk Nuclear Power Plant, is a nuclear power plant in Ukraine, near the city of Yuzhnoukrainsk in Mykolaiv Oblast, about 350 kilometers (220 mi) south of Kyiv.

It is the second largest of the country’s five nuclear power stations. It is part of the South Ukrainian Energy Complex, along with the Tashlyk Pumped-Storage Power Plant and Oleksandrivska hydroelectric power station.

It has three VVER-1000 pressurized water reactors and a net generation capacity of 2,850 megawatts (MW). In 2013, following major upgrade work, unit 1 was given a 10-year license extension, which will take it beyond its original 30-year design lifetime. Similar extensions are planned for units 2 and 3, licensed until 2015 and 2019, respectively.

The 750 kV Vetrino–Isaccea–Yuzhnoukrainsk powerline runs from the plant to Isaccea, Romania, but is mostly dismantled or ruined.

The plant was forced to declare an emergency and go into emergency shutdown this morning after Ukrainian army artillery shells hit critical areas of the plant.

No further details at this time.

(Source)