A Russian soldier patrols the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in May.
Andrey Borodulin / AFP via Getty Images
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Andrey Borodulin / AFP via Getty Images
A Russian soldier patrols the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in May.
Andrey Borodulin / AFP via Getty Images
Officials from the United Nations nuclear watchdog announced that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine had restored some power. It comes amid fears that the total loss of electricity will cause a nuclear accident.
Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, called the restoration of power “a temporary relief in a situation that remains unresolvable.”
“There should be a protected area now,” he wrote on sunday.
The factory in Ukraine went offline on Saturday morning after Russian shelling damaged the last remaining external power supply. Nuclear plants rely on electricity to run their cooling and safety equipment. Without it, a possible crisis.
This is one of many times that the plant has lost power outside in recent weeks.
Ukrainian authorities have tried using the plant’s own reactor and backup generators to provide some power, but these measures are not considered sustainable.
Rescuers use water cannons to extinguish a fire in a damaged residential building following a strike in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Sunday.
Maryna Moiseyenko / AFP via Getty Images
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Maryna Moiseyenko / AFP via Getty Images
Rescuers use water cannons to extinguish a fire in a damaged residential building following a strike in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Sunday.
Maryna Moiseyenko / AFP via Getty Images
The six reactor plant is the largest in Europe. It was captured and occupied by Russian troops since Marchalthough some Ukrainian workers still operating the factory. The city is the capital of the Zaporizhzhia region, one of the four territories of Ukraine that Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited. illegal annexation last month.
Efforts to prevent a radioactive disaster have also been hampered by the fact that the city has been repeatedly targeted by Russian explosions. That hurt not only the factory but also the locals who depend on it for electricity.
