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Invasion Puts Ukraine’s Nuclear Reactors at Risk, Monitors Warn

  • It’s the first large-scale war amid multiple nuclear plants
  • Ukrainian forces have lost control over the Chernobyl site
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhia Region, southeastern Ukraine, in 2019.

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhia Region, southeastern Ukraine, in 2019.

Photographer: Dmytro Smolyenko/Barcroft Media/Getty Images
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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is unfolding in a nation with 15 atomic reactors operating near full capacity, exposing Europe’s second-biggest nuclear fleet to potential safety risks.

Monitors at the International Atomic Energy Agency said late Thursday in an email that they’re gravely concerned by the situation and remain in contact with Ukrainian nuclear-safety regulators. Reactors require steady supplies of electricity and water, both of which could be put at risk by military action.