Ukraine appeals for temporary ceasefire to restore power at Chernobyl

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Russians forces destroy Chernobyl laboratory

Mar 9, 2022: Ukraine has called for a temporary ceasefire with Russia to allow repairs to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, and warned that radiation could be released if the power outage continues.

Ukraine’s state-owned nuclear company Energoatom said on Wednesday that fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces had made it impossible to immediately repair the plant’s high-voltage power line, which had been seized by Russian forces.

Energoatom warned radioactive substances could be released if the plant cannot cool spent nuclear fuel, and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said reserve diesel generators can power the plant for only 48 hours.

According to Energoatom, “The radioactive cloud could be carried by wind to other regions of Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, and Europe,”

Without power, ventilation systems at the plant would also not be working, exposing staff to dangerous doses of radiation, it added.

After that, “cooling systems of the storage facility for spent nuclear fuel will stop, making radiation leaks imminent,” Kuleba wrote on Twitter.

“The only electrical grid supplying the Chernobyl NPP and all its nuclear facilities occupied [the] by Russian army is damaged,” Kuleba said in another Tweet.

“I call on the international community to urgently demand Russia to cease fire and allow repair units to restore power supply,” he added.

The IAEA said the event does not have a critical impact on safety.

Earlier, the IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi on Tuesday raised concerns about reports that the plant’s 210 staff members had been on duty without rotation since the day before the start of the war.

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