The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant lost all off-site power due to “widespread military activity” in Ukraine, United Nations nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on the social media platform X Tuesday.
According to IAEA on X, several Ukrainian electrical substations as well as powerlines to other nuclear power plants were affected. Ukrainian news sites are blaming a Russian military strike, given Russia’s presence since it invaded Ukraine in 2022.
“The IAEA is actively following developments in order to assess impact on nuclear safety,” IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said on IAEA’s X page.
According to an IAEA statement in December, the protective barrier around the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site from 1986 can no longer contain radiation after a drone strike from February 2025. Ukrainian state news site Ukrainian Pravda said in December that Chernobyl’s director, Serhii Tarakanov, said another Russian strike could collapse the radiation shelter.
On Monday, Ukraine’s energy minister Denys Shmyhal said on Telegram and X Russia was preparing to attack Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on a large scale.
“I informed Mr. Grossi about the Russians’ preparations for another massive attack against energy infrastructure, with possible strikes on facilities and networks that serve nuclear power plants,” Shmyhal said on Telegram. “We agreed in the near term to jointly hear the heads of nuclear power plants and the leaders of IAEA missions working at the sites.”