Power supply to Chernobyl NPP restored: Ukraine operator

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The Chernobyl nuclear power plant's electricity supply has been restored, according to Energoatom, the Ukrainian nuclear power plant operator.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday that the Ukrainian military had hit the installations that maintained the electricity supply to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Russian experts switched the station to backup generators.

The power supply line was repaired by Ukrenergo specialists, Energoatom said in Telegram.

Damaged Power Lines at Chernobyl NPP to be repaired: IAEA

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) earlier, work on repairing the damaged electrical lines at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant continued.

"Regarding the situation at the Chornobyl NPP, the Ukrainian regulator said efforts to repair the damaged power lines were continuing but external electricity supplies remain severed since 9 March. Diesel generators are continuing to provide backup power to systems relevant for safety, including spent fuel storage facilities at the site of the 1986 accident, and additional fuel deliveries arrived on 11 March, it said," the IAEA said in a Saturday statement.

Russia's Rosatom Director-General Alexey Likhachev told IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi over the phone on Saturday that power lines from Belarus may be extended to serve the Chernobyl NPP. The Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant is also undergoing power line repairs, according to Likhachev (NPP).

"Likhachev confirmed the site power supply situation and said work was being carried out to restore the lost power lines but in a way not to put at risk the existing supplies, and therefore additional fuel supplies for back-up diesel generators were being brought in, in case they would be needed. He added that other supplies for the plant could also be delivered," the IAEA said.

The IAEA has been notified by Russia that the management and operation of Chernobyl, as well as the Zaporizhzhya NPP, is being carried out by Ukrainian staff, with the aid of a group of Russian experts.

"...with the consultative assistance of Russian specialists, the restoration of the power supply of the Chernobyl NPP and the physical protection system of the Zaporozhskaya NPP is now being carried out. While implementing measures carried out at ensuring the safe and secure operation of Ukrainian NPPs the Russian side maintains close contact with the IAEA," the Russian side was quoted as saying by the IAEA on Saturday.

In the early hours of February 24, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine after the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) appealed for help in defending themselves against the Ukrainian forces of aggression.