The Chernobyl nuclear power plant and its security systems were closed on Wednesday as fears began that radioactive substances could be released from the site of the worst nuclear disaster in the world.
Ukrainian energy company Ukrenerho said the plant had been “completely disconnected from the electricity grid”, adding that military operations meant “there was no possibility of rehabilitating the lines”.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said Ukraine had informed it of the power outage, but said that although the development “violates [a] key pillar of security “, in this case saw” no critical impact on security “.
The site is currently powered by generators, with electricity mainly needed to cool the water to control the heat of the spent fuel at the site.
Bombardment
On February 24, Russia invaded Ukraine and occupied the plant, where a 1986 disaster killed hundreds and spread radioactive contamination.
According to Ukrenerho, Chernobyl power lines were damaged by bombing in the midst of the ongoing conflict.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said Russia urgently needed a temporary ceasefire to allow the Chernobyl plant to be repaired. He said that “backup diesel generators have a capacity of 48 hours to power the site”.
Both Germany and France are closely monitoring the situation.
Occupation of Zaporizhzhia
Since the beginning of the invasion, Russian forces have taken control of the Zaporizhzhia plant in southern Ukraine.
According to the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine, the Moscow forces are forcing the exhausted personnel to register an address that they intend to use for propaganda purposes.
Russian troops control the Zaporizhzhia plant, the largest in Europe since occupying it last Friday. During the attack, a building caught fire, raising fears of nuclear disaster. It was later found that no radiation was emitted.
jsi / msh (Reuters, dpa, AFP, AP)
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