Russia-Ukraine war: Power line at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant damaged again

Russian troops have damaged the power line of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant on Monday (Local Time), a day after the electricity supply was restored at the facility.

Ukraine's National grid operator Ukrenergo said that a high-voltage power line was damaged a day after electricity supplies were restored to the nuclear power plant. The critical cooling system at the plant needs the power to operate normally, reported The Kyiv Independent, Ukraine's media outlet.

Earlier, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that Ukraine has restored the power at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) four days after the electricity was cut off at the Russian-controlled site.

The IAEA Director-General, Rafael Mariano Grossi received the news from the head of Ukraine's nuclear power company Energoatom, Petro Kotin, who told him that the specialists had fixed one of two damaged lines and would now be able to deliver all required off-site power to the NPP, where various radioactive waste management facilities are located following the 1986 accident.

However, as per the latest update by Ukraine's media outlet, the power line to the Chernobyl NPP is now again damaged.

The agency also informed that Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia NPP which is also under the control of Russia is not in a position to deliver the necessary spare parts, equipment, and specialized personnel to carry out planned repairs.

Furthermore, Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov asserted that Russia may seize large Ukrainian cities.

As of March 14, Russian troops have seized only one Ukrainian regional capital - Kherson - but they are also trying to enter Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv and Mariupol, reported the Ukrainian media outlet.

On February 24, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine after the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics requested help in 'defending themselves'.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the special operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only and the civilian population is not in danger.

The West however denies these claims by the Russians and in response, Western nations have imposed comprehensive sanctions on Moscow. In addition, they introduced sanctions on Belarus for supporting Russia's operation in Ukraine.

( With inputs from ANI )

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