Ukraine doesn’t know Chernobyl radiation levels, says ‘power is cut’
- Ukrainian authorities say they have no details on radiation levels as not had news about the nuclear power plant since its seizure by Russian troops
- Kyiv says the plant is ‘fully disconnected from power grid’, also no control over Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant which is held by Russian forces too
The Ukrainian authorities do not know what the radiation levels are at Chernobyl nuclear power plant, as they have not heard about what is happening there since it was seized by Russian troops, Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said on Wednesday.
He said Ukraine also had no control over what was happening at the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, where it said 400 Russian troops were stationed, while Ukraine’s energy operator Ukrenergo said power had been entirely cut to the Chernobyl plant and its security systems.
The nuclear power plant “was fully disconnected from the power grid,” it said in a statement on its Facebook page, adding that military operations meant “there is no possibility to restore the lines”.
The UN’s atomic watchdog said it saw “no critical impact on safety” from the loss of power at Chernobyl, site of the 1986 disaster. “Ukraine has informed IAEA of power loss,” the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a tweet, adding that “in this case IAEA sees no critical impact on safety”.
On Tuesday the IAEA said the Chernobyl plant was no longer transmitting data to it, voicing concern for staff working under Russian guards at the Ukrainian facility.
On February 24, Russia invaded Ukraine and seized the defunct plant, site of the 1986 disaster that killed hundreds and spread radioactive contamination west across Europe.