Chornobyl nuclear plant briefly loses external power after Russian strikes

Ukraine’s Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant lost all external power on Tuesday following overnight Russian strikes on the country’s energy infrastructure, according to Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Later the same day, Ukraine’s Energy Ministry reported that the plant had been reconnected to the national power grid.

“Several Ukrainian electrical substations vital for nuclear safety were affected by widespread military activity this morning,” the IAEA wrote. “ChNPP lost all off-site power and power lines to other NPPs were also impacted.”

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Ukraine’s Energy Ministry later said power had been restored to the New Safe Confinement structure over the plant’s destroyed fourth reactor, as well as to spent nuclear fuel storage facilities. The ministry also confirmed that Russian forces had targeted energy infrastructure nodes supplying power to Chornobyl’s facilities during the overnight attack. It added that radiation levels in the exclusion zone remain within safety limits, and that the plant has been provided with fuel and backup power sources in case of renewed strikes.

Last month, Chornobyl plant director Sergiy Tarakanov warned that the protective structure over the fourth reactor — damaged by a Russian strike in early 2025 — remains critically vulnerable, and that another attack could destroy it. “If a missile or drone hits it directly, or even falls somewhere nearby […] it will cause a mini-earthquake in the area,” he told AFP in a December interview. “No one can guarantee that the shelter facility will remain standing after that.”

According to Ukraine’s Air Force, Russian forces launched a combined 372 drones and missiles at Ukraine on the night of January 19. The strike targeted the country’s energy infrastructure, leaving nearly half of Kyiv’s apartment buildings — 5,635 in total — without heating.