Russian drone strike cuts power to Chernobyl nuclear site for three hours

Don’t miss the full story, whose reporting from Hanna Arhirova and Barry Hatton at The Associated Press is the basis of this AI-assisted article.

​Russia’s ongoing attacks on Ukraine’s power grid have created dangerous conditions at two nuclear facilities, with a drone strike cutting power to Chernobyl for over three hours and the Zaporizhzhia plant operating on emergency generators for more than a week.

Some key facts:

• A Russian drone attack knocked out power for more than three hours at the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site, affecting cooling systems and radiation monitoring equipment.

• The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, one of the world’s 10 biggest nuclear facilities, has been disconnected from the grid for over a week and is relying on emergency diesel generators.

• Both facilities require constant power to run cooling systems for spent fuel rods to prevent a potential nuclear incident.

• More than 20 Shahed drones targeted energy infrastructure in Slavutych, the city that provides power to Chernobyl, overwhelming defenses and causing a blackout.

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized the International Atomic Energy Agency and its chief, Rafael Mariano Grossi, for what he called weak responses to the nuclear threat.

• Nuclear safety experts warn that Zaporizhzhia’s situation is “extremely fragile and increasingly dire,” with no nuclear plant designed to function safely for extended periods without stable off-site power.

• The U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War claims Russia wants to integrate the Zaporizhzhia plant into the Russian grid, which would exacerbate security risks.

READ MORE: Zelenskyy warns Russian drones endanger safety at Chernobyl and at Europe’s biggest nuclear plant