LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian authorities say the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear plant, site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster, has been knocked off the power grid. Now, backup power is being provided by emergency generators.
According to the state communication agency, this outage could cause damage to cooling systems that contain nuclear materials.
The cause of the damage to the power line serving Chernobyl was not immediately clear, but it comes amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops have been in control of the area since last week.
Ukrenerho, the Ukrainian grid operator, stated that all Chernobyl facilities were without power. Diesel generators are able to run for up to 48 hours. Without power the “parameters of nuclear and radiation safety” cannot be controlled, it said.
Dmytro Kuleba, Foreign Minister, stated that the electricity grid is in serious condition and requested a ceasefire to enable repairs.
