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Chornobyl Nuclear Plant loses power after Russian attack on nearby town, Energy Ministry says

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Chornobyl Nuclear Plant loses power after Russian attack on nearby town, Energy Ministry says
Photo shows the Chernobyl nuclear power plant covered with a dome-like shelter in northern Ukraine on April 26, 2025, the 39th anniversary of the nuclear disaster. (Photo by Kyodo News via Getty Images)

A Russian attack on an energy facility in the town of Slavutych in Kyiv Oblast caused a blackout at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant on Oct. 1, the Energy Ministry said.

Slavutych, a satellite town of the Chornobyl plant in northern Ukraine, was built to house evacuated plant personnel following the 1986 disaster.

Earlier on Oct. 1, a Russian drone attack on a substation in Slavutych caused power outages in the city and parts of the neighboring Chernihiv Oblast, according to local authorities.

The Energy Ministry also reported an "emergency situation" at several facilities within the Chornobyl plant.

"Due to power surges, the New Safe Confinement — the key structure that isolates the destroyed 4th reactor of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant and prevents the release of radioactive materials into the environment — was left without electricity," the statement read.

In February, a Russian Shahed-type drone struck the New Safe Confinement over Chornobyl's destroyed 4th reactor. The structure built to contain radioactive material was damaged, although no serious radiation leaks were caused.

The news comes as the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the largest nuclear power station in Europe, which has been under Russian occupation since March 2022, has been disconnected from the Ukrainian electricity grid for a record over 100 hours.

President Volodymyr Zelensky described the situation at the Zaporizhzhia plant as "critical" on Sept. 30. Diesel generators are now supplying power to the plant, but one has already failed, Zelensky said.

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Kateryna Denisova

News Editor

Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.

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