New nuclear alert in Ukraine. The power supply to the containment structure of the Chernobyl power plant was cut after a Russian bombing, the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy announced on Wednesday October 1st. “As a result of power surges, the new safety containment, a key facility that isolates the destroyed fourth reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and prevents the release of radioactive materials into the environment, was left without power supply”authorities said on Telegram.
This protective dome, installed in 2016 above the reactor damaged in 1986, is crucial to avoid any dispersion of radioactive particles, recalls AFP. kyiv did not say how long the site could go without power or whether backup generators had taken over.
Equally delicate situation in Zaporizhia
Further south, the Zaporizhia power plant, occupied by the Russian army since March 2022, has also been deprived of external power since September 23, more than a week. A judged situation ” critical “ by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. On Wednesday, Moscow tried to reassure. “The situation at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is under control”, said the Russian operator of the site, who continues to communicate “constantly” with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The latter indicated that the plant did not present “no immediate danger”its systems operating thanks to emergency diesel generators. But Rafael Grossi, director of the IAEA, recalled that“such a situation is not viable in terms of nuclear safety”. According to him, the current cut is “the longest in more than three and a half years of war”.
Since the start of the Russian invasion, the two camps have regularly accused each other of endangering the security of nuclear installations. Bombings on the outskirts of Zaporizhia, repeated cuts, lack of qualified personnel: so many threats which maintain the specter of an accident… “Neither side would have an interest in a nuclear accident,” wants to believe Rafael Grossi, who says he remains in “permanent contact” with Moscow and kyiv to try to secure the sites.
