Ukraine warns of Chernobyl radiation risk after power connection was severed, making it impossible to cool spent nuclear fuel

• State-run nuclear company Energoatom said it cannot cool spent nuclear fuel 
• Work to repair the connection and restore power has not been possible
• Russia took control of the defunct atomic plant on the first day of the invasion 
• Click here for MailOnline’s liveblog with the latest updates on the Ukraine crisis 

Ukraine has warned that radioactive substances could be released from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

The state-run nuclear company Energoatom said it cannot cool spent nuclear fuel after its power connection was severed.

Work to repair the connection and restore power to the plant has not been possible because fighting is under way, it said.

Ukraine has warned that radioactive substances could be released from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Pictured: the giant protective dome built over the sarcophagus covering the destroyed fourth reactor

Russia took control of the defunct atomic plant on the first day of the invasion and has since captured a second nuclear site, the biggest in Europe. 

Chernobyl is also no longer transmitting data to the UN’s atomic watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned.

It also voiced concern for staff working under Russian guard at the Ukrainian facility for almost two weeks.

Putin is using nuclear ‘blackmail’ to keep the international community from interfering the conflict, the head of the Nobel prize-winning group ICAN told AFP Tuesday.

Systems monitoring nuclear material at the radioactive waste facilities at Chernobyl in Ukraine have stopped transmitting data to the UN’s nuclear watchdog

‘The Director General indicated that remote data transmission from safeguards monitoring systems installed at the Chernobyl NPP had been lost,’ the IAEA said in a statement yesterday.

Safeguards keep track of nuclear material and waste products generated by nuclear power plants.

The IAEA urged Russian authorities to allow the 210 staff members who are being held captive at Chernobyl to leave, arguing that although radiation levels in the area are relatively low, it is necessary to ensure a ‘safe rotation’ of staff. 

It comes after the Vienna-based UN body said Ukrainian authorities reported an attack on a nuclear facility in Kharkiv on Sunday – though no increase in radiation levels had been reported at the site.

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