A drone strike Wednesday knocked out power to Slavutych, the Ukrainian city responsible for supplying electricity to the Chernobyl nuclear site, including the New Safe Confinement structure that contains the remains of Reactor 4 — the source of the 1986 meltdown.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of targeting the city with more than 20 Shahed-type drones in what Kyiv claims was a deliberate attempt to disrupt power to the nuclear facility.
The blackout lasted more than three hours. Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said the immediate emergency had ended, with power restored to the Chernobyl complex through alternative lines. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed a loss of external power and reported “fluctuations,” but said electricity was eventually reestablished.
Zelensky warned that cutting power to the site poses serious risks. The Chernobyl facility still requires constant electricity to operate cooling systems for spent nuclear fuel and maintain radiation monitoring.
Kyiv is framing the strike as a calculated move by Moscow to escalate the threat of a nuclear incident.
France 24 reports:
“Today, a Russian strike on one of our energy substations in Slavutych caused a blackout lasting more than three hours at the former [Chernobyl] Nuclear Power Plant facilities,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Facebook.
“This included the New Safe Confinement, which protects the environment from remnants of reactor four after the 1986 explosion, as well as from radioactive debris and dust,” he added.
He accused Russia of posing a threat to global security and called for a “strong response”.
It remains unclear how exactly power was restored. The full extent of damage to Slavutych’s power infrastructure and the containment structures at the Chernobyl site is still under investigation.
Officials have not confirmed whether all monitoring and safety systems at the facility are functioning normally or operating in a degraded state.
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As a United States Vietnam War Veteran, am appalled by our handcuffing Ukraine. If attacked, the US Navy of old did not sit back and say stop that! No, we would fire respond with twice the firepower. Putin only understands power and he will continue to push and push, until he goes from France’s Western shore into the Atlantic Ocean, after conquering all of Europe! Stop the Woke approach of the Bidenista regime and put an end to Putin’s aggression!. Stop Putin over there, so we don’t have to stop him on our shores.
Putin is a clear danger to the world. Russia need to to stop him NOW!