Power has been entirely cut to the Chernobyl
power plant, site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986, and its
security systems, Ukraine’s national energy operator, Ukrenergo, said
Wednesday.
The plant “was fully disconnected
from the power grid”, Ukrenergo said in a statement on its Facebook
page, adding that military operations meant “there is no possibility to
restore the lines”.
On 24 February Russia
invaded Ukraine and seized the defunct plant, site of a disaster in
1986 that killed hundreds of people and spread radioactive contamination
across Europe.
On Tuesday, the UN atomic
watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said that the
site was no longer transmitting data and voiced concern for staff
working under Russian guard.
The situation for the staff “was worsening”, the IAEA said, citing the Ukrainian nuclear regulator.
The defunct plant sits inside an exclusion zone that houses decommissioned reactors as well as radioactive waste facilities.
More than 2,000 staff still work at the plant as it requires constant management to prevent another nuclear disaster.
On Tuesday, the IAEA director, Gen Rafael Grossi,
called on “the forces in effective control of the site to urgently
facilitate the safe rotation of personnel there”.
He
also repeated his offer to travel to Chernobyl or elsewhere to secure
“the commitment to the safety and security” of Ukraine’s power plants
from all parties.
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