Ukraine and Russia are waging a public relations war over repairs at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Russian forces took control of the plant last week and, on Tuesday, the facility’s safeguard monitoring system stopped transmitting.
On Thursday morning, Russia said Belarusian specialists had restored power at the facility, a claim that Ukraine denies. Ukrenergo, Ukraine’s national electricity grid operator, said crews are waiting to enter the plant to make repairs but cannot do so until the two sides agree to a ceasefire. The operator also reportedly rejected offers of help from Belarus.
“‘Ukrenergo’ expects a safe corridor, which will give the opportunity to restore the line that will revive the Chornobyl’s’ku nuclear power plant,” Ukrenergo wrote on Facebook on Thursday, according to an English translation. “Our repair brigades are ready to repair the line immediately, regarding the threats of shot from the enemy, and expect only a permission.”
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Russia’s Energy Ministry claimed power had been restored, Reuters reported, but no other outlets confirmed its reporting.
Russian forces, which control the site, and Ukraine are both anxious to restore power to the plant, which has been shuttered since the 1986 accident that released radioactive material into the environment. Power at the site is keeping the nuclear reactors cooled.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said it didn’t see the power outage as a “critical impact on safety.”
Andrii Herus, chairman of the Committee on Energy and Housing and Communal Services, wrote on Telegram that the “difficult” situation is made tougher due to Russian forces controlling the facility.
“We don’t know what to expect from the occupiers. They are monkeys with a grenade,” he wrote. “We invite IAEA specialists to Ukraine not only to learn from our words what is happening at Ukrainian nuclear power plants but also to see for themselves what the occupiers are doing.”
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Despite the IAEA’s assurances that the power outage wasn’t dire, Ukraine said it is concerned about a radiation leak that could result if power isn’t restored before backup generators turn off. The generators have fuel to run for 48 hours.
A former IAEA employee told the New York Times that besides containing radiation, the power outage poses other risks, including measuring the amount of radiation at the plant and keeping staff warm and fed.
