Engineers Restored Power at Chernobyl and Averted ‘Risk of a Possible Nuclear Catastrophe,’ Ukrainian Officials Say

Photo by SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images

Ukrainian officials said Sunday that power is restored at the Chernobyl nuclear plant, averting a “possible nuclear catastrophe.”

Officials had warned on Wednesday that damage by Russian troops caused the station to be “disconnected” from outside power, forcing it to rely on generators and backup power.

Ukraine’s energy minister, Herman Galushchenko, said in a statement that the Chernobyl plant is no longer operating on backup power and has resumed normal operations, according to AFP.

“Today, thanks to the incredible efforts of [Ukrainian energy] specialists, our nuclear power engineers and electricians managed to return the power supply to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which was seized by the Russian occupiers,” he said.

“Our Ukrainian energy engineers, by risking their own health and lives, were able to avert the risk of a possible nuclear catastrophe that threatened the whole of Europe,” he added.

Russian forces seized control of Chernobyl in late February, less than a week into Vladimir Putin‘s invasion.

At the time, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry warned that the 1986 nuclear disaster at Chernobyl could “happen again in 2022” if Russia continued its attacks.

Although the U.N.’s atomic watchdog said that Chernobyl losing power did not cause any “critical impact to safety,” the Ukrainian government cautioned that if the lack of power ended up disrupting efforts to cool nuclear material, that could “lead to nuclear discharge.”

In his statement, Galushchenko called for a “demilitarized zone” around Ukraine’s nuclear plants to help avoid potential nuclear disaster.

“It is now imperative to force the enemy to leave the nuclear power plant and establish a 30-kilometer demilitarized zone around Ukraine’s nuclear facilities,” he said.