The power supply of the Chernobyl power plant and its security equipment is “totally” cut off due to Russian military actionsreported the Ukrainian operator Ukrenergo this Wednesday.
The Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the origin of the worst civil nuclear catastrophe in 1986, “has been totally disconnected from the electricity grid due to the military actions of the Russian occupiers. The place no longer has power,” the operator said on his Facebook page.
“There is no possibility of re-establishing the lines” as the offensive is ongoing, the operator said.
The Chernobyl plant, located in an exclusion zone, includes decommissioned reactors and radioactive waste facilities.
The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which belongs to the UN, did not react immediately.
A few hours earlier, he had “indicated that the remote transmission of data from the safeguard monitoring systems” installed in Chernobyl had stopped.
The IAEA uses the term “safeguards” to refer to the technical measures it applies to nuclear material and activities to prevent the development of nuclear weapons.
More than 200 technicians and guards are locked in place and they have been working 13 days in a row under Russian surveillance.
The IAEA asked Russia to allow staff rotation because rest and regular work schedules are crucial to site safety.
“I am very concerned about the difficult and stressful situation of the staff at the Chernobyl nuclear plant and the potential risk to nuclear safety,” said Rafael Grossi, the director general of the UN nuclear body.
Grossi reiterated his offer to travel to the site to ensure “commitment to the safety” of the nuclear plants for all parties involved.
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