Ukraine says it has repaired a damaged power line at the Chernobyl power plant, which in 1986 was the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster. The plant is currently held by Russian troops.
Energy Minister German Galushchenko said that the “heroes” from the national power grid company managed to restore communication. The energy is used to run pumps that cool the spent nuclear fuel to prevent radiation from escaping.
Ukraine said on Wednesday that electricity at the site had been cut off, but there was enough diesel fuel to run local generators for 48 hours. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) downplayed the concerns, saying it saw little risk of spent fuel pools overheating even without electricity.
The IAEA said on Sunday that it was informed of the restoration of the power line at approximately 18:38 local time. The plant was supposed to be reconnected to the Ukrainian electricity grid on Monday morning, the IAEA said.
But the Reuters news service cited a statement by grid operator Ukrenergo, which said later on Monday that Russian forces had damaged the line again, although it did not provide any evidence for its claim or say whether all of the station’s external power had been cut again. . Ukrenergo demanded access to the facility in order to re-repair the line.
When Galushchenko initially announced that power had been restored, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi issued a statement calling it “a positive development as the Chernobyl nuclear power plant has had to rely on emergency diesel generators for several days now. However, I remain seriously concerned about safety and security at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and other nuclear facilities in Ukraine.”
Close-up Maxar satellite imagery of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. Satellite image (c) 2022 Maxar Technologies.
Part of the problem, the IAEA said, is the health of more than 200 Chernobyl workers who were not allowed to leave the plant for almost three weeks.
Russian forces quickly captured the Chernobyl site after the invasion began on 24 February. Ukrainian officials said a group of nuclear power plant operators who ensure safety at the decommissioned facility tried to continue their work, but were allowed to leave the area by order of Russian troops and without even being allowed to leave.
The agency said on Sunday that Ukrainian officials said personnel were no longer repairing or maintaining safety-related equipment “due in part to their physical and psychological fatigue after working non-stop for almost three weeks.”
On Friday, Ukraine accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of ordering the “preparation of a terrorist attack” at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Russian forces in control of the plant “denied Ukrainian repairmen access to the station,” the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said in a statement. Among the engineers sent from Belarus, it was alleged, were Russian “saboteurs”, posing as nuclear scientists, who arrived “to organize a terrorist attack.”
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