Ukraine’s energy minister said on Sunday that power supply has been restored at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which Russian troops have occupied since late February.

Ukrainian government officials said on Wednesday that damage by Russian forces had “disconnected” the plant from outside electricity, leaving the site dependent on power from diesel generators and backup supplies.

In a post on Facebook, Ukraine’s energy minister, Herman Galushchenko said that the plant was no longer on back-up power and had resumed operating under normal conditions.

He praised Ukrainian power engineers for risking their lives to “avert the risk of a possible nuclear catastrophe”.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said last week that there was no need for immediate alarm over the condition of the decommissioned plant but that the situation around the site remained a source of grave concern.

On Sunday, the IAEA said that workers were no longer doing repairs and maintenance, partly because of “physical and psychological fatigue”.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the IAEA, has said he had received a letter from the plant’s operator saying that about 400 Russian soldiers were “present full time on site” and that the plant was under control of Russian forces.

Grossi expressed concern that the Chernobyl plant’s 211-member staff had not been able to rotate shifts since February 23, a day before Russian forces occupied the site.

Galushchenko on Sunday called on the European Commission, the UN and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe to help Ukraine protect its nuclear facilities.

(New York Times News Service)