Nevertheless, he said, "the lack of power is likely to lead to a further deterioration of operational radiation safety at the site and create additional stress" for the workers living at the facility around the clock.īut Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk offered a grimmer outlook when she spoke to ABC's Four Corners, warning of a potential nuclear catastrophe if the site was cut off from the grid. "Victory is upon us."Īt the time, Grossi expressed "deep concern" about the development but added that the outage would "would not have a critical impact on essential safety functions" because the "volume of cooling water in the pool is sufficient to maintain effective heat removal of spent fuel without a supply of electricity". "Most girl's parents plan to name them Victoria," the post reads. In a show of defiance, the local council announced on Facebook that 14 children have been born in the city since the start of the war. This week, they held an emotional rally calling for more to be done to help their loved ones. Over in Slavutych, the mayor and family members of the trapped workers have been desperately calling for a safe corridor to allow them to leave freely. Kremlin says charges against Prigozhin will be dropped, Wagner fighters leave Rostov-on-Don - as it happened A worsening crisis There's so far been no indication when, or if, they will be relieved from their duties. Workers were being shadowed by Russian soldiers, they reported, and arguments were starting to erupt. In an article on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal detailed tense conditions within the facility. Last week, Ukraine's nuclear regulator reportedly told the IAEA staff were "no longer carrying out repair and maintenance of safety-related equipment, in part due to their physical and psychological fatigue after working non-stop for nearly three weeks." There are also concerns their mental and physical state could impact the safety of the site. There are now grave fears for the Ukrainian staff, who IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi says are working "under enormous stress without the necessary rest". Instead of returning to their homes in the nearby town of Slavutych - built in the wake of the disaster as housing for Pripyat's former residents - they're sleeping on makeshift beds inside the facility. In the three weeks since, the workers have dutifully reported for their shifts, only now there is no one to replace them at knock-off. Inside, they said, 211 plant workers were being held hostage. Within hours, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a body within the United Nations tasked with promoting the safe use of nuclear technology, announced armed forces had taken control of the Chernobyl facility. (A spike in radiation levels was put down to the increased activity causing radioactive dust to rise into the air.) That is until February 24, the first day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, when troops rolled in, kicking up dust in their wake. Aside from a growing stream of "dark" tourists, eager to see the destruction for themselves, and workers tasked with protecting the security of the site, measuring radiation levels, and overseeing the process of decommissioning the reactors, the exclusion zone has, as intended, remained relatively deserted.
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