Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Restored: Ukraine Tells IAEA

Ukraine says it has restored Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) four days after they were completely lost at the Russian-controlled site, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a statement.

The Director-General received the news from the head of Ukraine’s nuclear power company Energoatom, Petro Kotin, who told him that the specialists had fixed one of two damaged lines and would now be able to deliver all required off-site power to the NPP, where various radioactive waste management facilities are located following the 1986 accident.

Ukraine’s regulator separately informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that the power supply line was restored at 18:38 CET by the repair personnel of Ukrenergo, the country’s transmission system operator. The Chornobyl NPP continues to work on backup diesel generators and will be reconnected to the Ukrainian electricity grid in the morning, the statement said.

Earlier, the agency also informed that Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia NPP which is also under the control of Russia is not in a position to deliver the necessary spare parts, equipment, and specialized personnel to carry out planned repairs.

While Ukraine is reporting all the problems related to Chornobyl NPP, indicating NPP is in danger, Russia on other hand, denied all Ukraine’s claims that the Chernobyl NPP is in danger after being captured by Russian forces.

On March 3, Ukraine informed the IAEA that Russian forces had taken the control of the site of the country’s Zaporizhzhia NPP.