Aimee Walker
The Chernobyl power plant has reportedly been ‘pulled from Ukraine’s grip’ by Russian troops after they ‘cut off the power supply at the site’.
Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, who is head of Ukraine’s energy supplier, Ukrenergo, confirmed the news with a post on the company’s Facebook page.
It read: “Today, as a result of the enemy actions of the Russian aggressor, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is completely destroyed.
Find out how Russian troops ‘seized control of Chernobyl’ in the clip below…
“We have repeatedly discussed with occupants asking for repair works in the interests of the security of the entire continent, taking into account the status of the Chernobyl zone and the availability of nuclear objects.”
It continued: “According to the information available in the nuclear fuel reserves, a large number of processed fuel collections, which without a working cooling system pose a danger to the environment, a risk of increasing radiation background.
“Without energy supply, ventilation will not work, the system of fire extinguishing on the tea. Restoration of power lines that live in this overwhelming and very dangerous facility is critical.
“In order to do so, given the current situation, it is necessary for the aggressor to leave the Chernobyl NPP site and the territory where the Ukrenergo repair crews will repair damaged by the Russian power line.”
However, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s atomic watchdog, went on to tweet that there was ‘no critical impact on safety,’ writing: “Ukraine has informed IAEA of power loss at Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
“@rafaelmgrossisays development violates key safety pillar on ensuring uninterrupted power supply; in this case, IAEA sees no critical impact on safety.”
Following this, Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, also tweeted about the incident, asking the ‘international community’ to help.
He said: “I call on the entire international community to immediately call on Russia to cease fire and allow repair crews to restore electricity supply as soon as possible.”
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