Chernobyl with out electrical energy: are there dangers? | EUROtoday

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This will not be the primary time that the Chernobyl sarcophagus has been focused by Russian assaults. Last February “a high explosive warhead” had pierced the protecting construction of reactor 4, the one from which the 1986 catastrophe began. This time it was not a missile immediately on the sarcophagus, however very shut away, which interrupted the exterior energy provide of the plant.

The director common of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, reported that a number of Ukrainian electrical energy substations have been hit by a large-scale army assault. One of those was the Chernobyl nuclear energy plant, which misplaced all exterior energy provide, in addition to a number of different energy traces to different nuclear energy vegetation. “The IAEA is actively monitoring developments to assess the impact on nuclear safety,” Grossi added. This comes the day after the warning issued by Ukrainian army intelligence brokers that Russian missile assaults on the nation’s electrical energy grid may result in a “second Chernobyl”.

Ukrainian consultants say that the continual bombing of Vladimir Putin’s military on the Ukrainian electrical energy grid has come near nuclear reactors, some simply 300 meters away from the Zaporizhzhia energy plant, which could be very near the entrance line. “I am deeply concerned about the difficult situation of Ukrainian nuclear power plants and the potential risks this poses for nuclear safety,” Grossi stated.

Already in March 2022, when the Chernobyl web site fell into the palms of the Russian invaders, there was a radioactive leak when the Russian army broke into the exclusion zone with none safety, stealing supplies and interrupting the actions of the monitoring employees. Following this intrusion, a number of Russian troopers have been uncovered to radiation and suffered from acute radiation syndrome, however with the retreat of the invaders, pushed again by the Ukrainians on the finish of March, the radioactive degree within the neighborhood of the plant had returned to regular.

The harm to the sarcophagus of reactor 4, the dangers of the blackout

The Chernobyl energy plant consists of 4 decommissioned reactors and a radioactive waste disposal plant. The plant’s final functioning reactor was closed in 2000. Reactor No. 4, the place the catastrophe struck in 1986, was lined by a metal and concrete “sarcophagus” accomplished by the Ukrainians in 2016, however the IAEA had beforehand warned that the protecting defend may not comprise radiation correctly resulting from harm attributable to a drone assault in February 2025. An inspection in December 2025 discovered that the ability had “lost its main security functions, including its confinement capacity”. Although repairs have been made, the positioning wants a “comprehensive restoration” to “prevent further degradation and ensure long-term nuclear safety,” Grossi stated.