Ukraine says power restored at Chernobyl plant, seized by Russian forces
- The Russian-occupied Chernobyl nuclear power plant was cut off from power supply last week
- Russian forces have also captured the Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe’s biggest atomic power plant
Electricity supply has been restored at Ukraine’s retired Chernobyl nuclear power plant that was seized by Russian forces in the first days of the invasion, energy officials in Kyiv said on Sunday.
“Today, thanks to the incredible efforts of (Ukrainian energy) specialists, our nuclear power engineers and electricians managed to return the power supply to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which was seized by the Russian occupiers,” Ukraine’s Energy Minister German Galushchenko said in a statement.
“Our Ukrainian energy engineers, by risking their own health and lives, were able to avert the risk of a possible nuclear catastrophe that threatened the whole of Europe,” he added.
Power had been cut to the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster, though the United Nations’ atomic watchdog said there was “no critical impact to safety”.
An explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986 killed hundreds and spread a radioactive cloud west across Europe.