Russian attack leaves Chernobyl’s New Safe Confinement without electricity

A Russian attack on a power facility in Slavutych, near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, caused an emergency blackout, Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy reported.

The New Safe Confinement (NSC) was designed to prevent further radiation leaks from Ukraine’s stricken Chernobyl nuclear power plant

The New Safe Confinement, which covers the destroyed fourth reactor, was left without power. The structure is critical to preventing the release of radioactive materials.

Engineers are currently working to restore the power supply.

Prior to this, Russian troops struck the city of Slavutych, located in the Kyiv region. The city lost power and water supply. A drone hit a substation, causing a fire.

Meanwhile, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been without external power for over a week, relying solely on its diesel generators, which have limited fuel reserves. The IAEA has confirmed the danger of the situation.

Earlier, ZMINA reportedі that the Russian Federation is once again attempting to cause large-scale power outages in Ukraine on the eve of the heating season through shelling.

The Russian military has already destroyedі most of Ukraine’s electricity generation capacity, and began a campaign of massive shelling in October 2022. The OSCEі and the UNі have already warned about the threat of a blackout in Ukraine this year, and they do not rule out attacks on nuclear power plants.

There were attempts to declare an energy truceі between Ukraine and Russia this year, but Moscow broke it.