The shelter was without power for several hours due to a power outage caused by Russian attacks.Image: keystone
January 20, 2026, 6:20 p.mJanuary 20, 2026, 6:20 p.m
In Ukraine, the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant and other nuclear facilities in the radioactively contaminated exclusion zone around the nuclear power plant are back on the power grid. “The power plant is equipped with the necessary fuel reserves and functioning backup power sources in the event of new (Russian) attacks,” the Energy Ministry in Kiev assured in a statement. The radiation levels around the industrial plants and in the restricted area are within the standards.
In the morning, the power supply was interrupted as a result of Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian substations. The power outage affected not only the protective structure above the nuclear reactor that crashed in 1986, but also several interim storage facilities for radioactive waste in the area. The International Atomic Energy Agency said several substations important for nuclear safety were affected by large-scale military operations. This not only has an impact on Chernobyl, but also on the power supply of other nuclear power plants.
The reactor disaster at the then Soviet nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine is considered the worst nuclear disaster in history. Because of the radioactive radiation, a zone within a radius of around 30 kilometers around the site of the accident was completely closed. Tens of thousands of people were relocated. During its invasion in February 2022, the Russian army occupied the power plant facilities and the restricted area for several weeks on its way to the capital Kiev, about 100 kilometers away. (sda/dpa)