Europe could be hit by devastating Chernobyl radiation after Russian troops cut power to nuclear plant, Ukraine warns
EUROPE could be hit by a devastating radiation leak from the Chernobyl nuclear site after Russian troops cut off the electricity, Ukraine has warned.
The plant, which was stormed by Russian forces last month, has no power supply after troops cut lines connecting it to the national grid on Wednesday.
Constant power is needed to cool spent fuel rods at the mothballed site - - site of the world's worst nuclear disaster in 1986.
Emergency generators are supplying back-up power but they will run out of diesel in 48 hours, officials said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba warned: "After that, cooling systems of the storage facility for spent nuclear fuel will stop, making radiation leaks imminent."
The boss of state-run nuclear company Energoatom added that the sub-freezing weather would help keep the waste stable.
Petro Kotin said: "Now everything will depend on the ambient temperature. It is quite cool now and in such conditions the cooling can work for about seven days without serious consequences."
Earlier the company said that if the power outage causes a leak: "The radioactive cloud could be carried by wind to other regions of Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, and Europe."
The company said there are about 20,000 spent fuel assemblies which cannot be kept cool amid the power outage.
Without electricity, experts fear the ventilation systems at the plant will also stop working - exposing staff to dangerous doses of radiation.
Mr Kuleba called for an urgent ceasefire from Russia so engineers can go in to restore the vital power lines.
UN watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency said Russia had "violated the key safety pillar on ensuring uninterrupted power supply".
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However it said it currently "sees no critical impact on safety" and played down fears of an imminent radiation leak.
The agency added: "The heat load of the spent fuel storage pool and the volume of cooling water contained in the pool is sufficient to maintain effective heat removal without the need for electrical supply."
Russian soldiers seized Chernobyl after storming in from Belarus last month.
Plant workers are allegedly being held "hostage" in poor conditions and have been made to work 13 days straight with no rest - further raising safety fears.
It also emerged the Russians had disabled safety warnings and cut off data transmissions.
Consequently authorities do not know what the current radiation levels at the site, said Ukraine's energy Minister Herman Halushchenko.
He said Ukraine also had no control over operations at the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant - the biggest in Europe with six reactors.
Around 400 Russian soldiers were said to be stationed there.
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It comes as the UN's nuclear watchdog warned the situation for Ukrainian staff working under Russian guard at Chernobyl "was worsening".
Terrified staff who were captured when the nuclear power plant was stormed by Putin's troops are reportedly being overworked with limited food rations.
Fears are mounting for the welfare of more than 200 technical staff and guards who remain trapped at the site - and have worked 13 days straight since the Russian takeover.
The IAEA said the situation for the staff "was worsening" at the site and they could only communicate with the plant via e-mail.
The UN agency has urged Russia to allow workers to rotate as rest and regular shifts were vital to the safety of the site.
The agency's chief Rafael Grossi said: “I’m deeply concerned about the difficult and stressful situation facing staff at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and the potential risks this entails for nuclear safety.
"I call on the forces in effective control of the site to urgently facilitate the safe rotation of personnel there."
Staff are reportedly surviving on just one meal of porridge a day and two hours of sleep as they are forced run the facility around the clock.
A source told the : "They are facing a very difficult situation and are starving, exhausted and depressed.
"They are facing a very difficult situation and are starving, exhausted and depressed.
"With nowhere to sleep and no blankets, many are only sleeping for two to four hours on desks or wherever they can find a space.
"They are running out of food and are down to one meal of porridge a day. They are fed once every 24 hours, if there is enough they might get extra bread."
The exhausted work force have reportedly been forced to raid their colleagues' lockers to find food, medicine or hygiene products.
Ukrainian regulators said staff at Chernobyl have access to food and water - and medicine to a limited extent.
DATA LOST
Meanwhile, the IAEA said the Russians have also blocked vital channels of communication at the plant.
Grossi "indicated that remote data transmission from safeguards monitoring systems installed at the Chornobyl NPP had been lost".
In a statement, the UN nuclear watchdog said: "The agency is looking into the status of safeguards monitoring systems in other locations in Ukraine and will provide further information soon."
The IAEA uses the term "safeguards" to describe the measures it applies to nuclear material and activities to stop the spread of nuclear weapons through early detection of the misuse of the material.
With remote data transmission cut off, Mr Grossi reiterated his offer to travel to the site to secure "the commitment to the safety and security" of Ukraine's power plants.
Russian forces captured the area surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the early hours of February 24 as war broke out on the eastern borders of Ukraine.
The Chernobyl nuclear power plant was once a power complex with four nuclear reactors based northern Ukraine, near the border with Belarus.
An explosion during the construction of the last two reactors in 1986 killed two workers immediately and 28 others died from radiation poisoning within a few weeks.
Radioactivity spread as far as Italy and France resulting in deformities in newly-born livestock and contaminating millions of miles of farmland.
An investigation into the explosion revealed faulty protocols in the design of the reactors and poorly trained personnel caused the destruction.
The Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster is considered to be the worst nuclear disaster in the world, and more than three decades later, the area remains as dangerous as ever.
Last week, Russia also attacked and seized Europe's largest atomic power plant, Zaporizhzhia - drawing accusations of "nuclear terror" from Kyiv.
Zaporizhzhia has six reactors of a more modern, safer design than the one that melted down at Chernobyl.
The IAEA said two of the reactors are still operating, the plant's personnel were working in shifts and radiation levels remained stable.
Russian news agency RIA Novosti published a video of a Russian guard in front of the plant saying Moscow's forces were in full control of the site.
The official said: "Currently, the plant is operating as normal. The management of the site is fulfilling its functions. The situation is fully controlled by the Russian national guard."
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The official accused Ukraine of storing weapons at the facility.
He said "a large number of armaments and ammunition, including heavy weapons, were discovered in the reactors of the plants," after it was taken by Russian forces.
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