Ukraine says to have fixed a power line to the Chernobyl nuclear power facility, which was the scene of the world's worst nuclear disaster in 1986. Russian forces currently control the plant.
Russian forces rapidly took the Chernobyl site after launching their invasion on Feb. 24. According to Ukrainian officials, the team of plant operators in charge of ensuring safe operations at the deactivated facility attempted to continue working against Russian troops' orders and the fact that they were not allowed to leave the site at all.
"Heroes" from the national power grid company, according to Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko, were able to restore the connection. Pumps that keep spent nuclear fuel cold and prevent radiation leakage are powered by this energy.
According to Reuters, Ukrainian officials had warned of a potential radiation leak if a high voltage electrical cable connected to the plant was not repaired.
"It is impossible to say the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is safe after a totally pointless attack by the Russians," President Zelensky's adviser Mykhailo Podoliak said at the time. "This is one of the most serious threats in Europe today."
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Sunday that the power supply line had been restored at around 6:38 p.m. local time. According to the IAEA, the facility will be restored to Ukraine's energy system on Monday morning.
Part of the issue, according to the IAEA, is the health of the more than 200 Chernobyl plant workers who haven't been allowed to leave for nearly three weeks.
Ukraine accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of ordering the "preparation of a terrorist assault" on the Chernobyl nuclear power station on Friday. In a statement, Ukraine's Ministry of Defense said that Russian personnel in charge of the facility "refused to grant access to the station to Ukrainian repair people."
It alleged that among the engineers dispatched from Belarus were Russian "saboteurs" posing as nuclear specialists who came "to organize a terrorist strike."
In its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has seized a number of Ukrainian power plants.
Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, one of the largest in Europe, caught fire earlier this month as a result of a Russian attack, causing concern throughout the area.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the U.N. Security Council warned earlier this month that Russia's insistence on nuclear power reactors could cause problems for Ukraine.
According to the UN, at least 549 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since March 9, and more than 2.698 million refugees have fled the nation.
