Power Restored at Ukraine’s Chernobyl

Russian forces seized Chernobyl soon after it invaded Ukraine on February 24 Sergei SUPINSKY AFP/File
Russian forces seized Chernobyl soon after it invaded Ukraine on February 24 Sergei SUPINSKY AFP/File
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Power Restored at Ukraine’s Chernobyl

Russian forces seized Chernobyl soon after it invaded Ukraine on February 24 Sergei SUPINSKY AFP/File
Russian forces seized Chernobyl soon after it invaded Ukraine on February 24 Sergei SUPINSKY AFP/File

Power has been restored at Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear power station, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster in 1986, the International Atomic Energy Agency said late Monday.

Separately, Ukraine's state nuclear operator Energoatom accused the Russian military of detonating ammunition at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in the country's south.

"Ukraine has informed IAEA that external power had again today been restored to the (Chernobyl) Nuclear Power Plant after line had been again damaged 'by the occupying forces'," the UN's atomic watchdog tweeted.

"Staff had restarted operations to reconnect the plant to the electricity grid."

Energy operator Ukrenergo had earlier said the power line supplying the Chernobyl plant had been "damaged by the occupying forces," after Russian forces invaded Ukraine on February 24 and seized the power station in the first days of the assault, according to AFP.

The retired Chernobyl nuclear reactors -- enclosed in a giant steel and concrete sarcophagus -- had also lost power early last week but supply was restored Sunday.

The power station has emergency diesel generators that can kick in when electricity is needed to power security systems including the cooling systems for the spent nuclear fuel storage facility, Ukraine's nuclear power inspection body SNRIU said last week.

Ukrenergo said Chernobyl "cannot be left without a reliable energy supply".

The 1986 explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant killed hundreds and spread a radioactive cloud across Europe.

On March 4, Russian forces shelled and captured the Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe's biggest nuclear power station, raising alarm in Europe over a possible nuclear catastrophe.

Ukraine's Energoatom accused the Russian military of detonating ammunition near a reactor.

"And they are continuing to conduct explosions at Europe's largest nuclear facility," Energoatom said on messaging app Telegram, urging the International Atomic Energy Agency to take action.

It said it was currently unclear if radiation levels had changed at the station.

The IAEA said it was "aware of reports that Russian forces have carried out munition explosions at the site of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant today" and was seeking information about the situation from Ukraine.

Energoatom also claimed that 11 representatives of Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom were at the Zaporizhzhia plant and taking part in the explosions, accusing Rosatom of violating "all established international rules and requirements of nuclear and radiation safety."



Spain Rules Out Participating in Military Operations in Strait of Hormuz

FILE PHOTO: An LPG gas tanker at anchor as traffic is down in the Strait of Hormuz, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Shinas, Oman, March 11, 2026. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An LPG gas tanker at anchor as traffic is down in the Strait of Hormuz, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Shinas, Oman, March 11, 2026. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
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Spain Rules Out Participating in Military Operations in Strait of Hormuz

FILE PHOTO: An LPG gas tanker at anchor as traffic is down in the Strait of Hormuz, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Shinas, Oman, March 11, 2026. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An LPG gas tanker at anchor as traffic is down in the Strait of Hormuz, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Shinas, Oman, March 11, 2026. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo

Spain will not take part in any military mission in the Strait of Hormuz because it considers the US-Israeli war on Iran to be illegal, Madrid's defense and foreign affairs ministers said on Monday. The leftist coalition government led by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has criticized the offensive and banned participating US aircraft from using jointly operated bases in southern Spain.

Defense Minister Margarita Robles rejected a demand by US President Donald Trump for military support to secure the waterway - which Tehran has de facto blocked to oil tanker traffic - and his threats of a "very bad future" for NATO allies failing to do so.

"Spain will never accept any stopgap measures, because the objective must be for the war to end, and for it to end now," Robles said.

The situation in the strait is a matter of grave concern for Europeans, but the European Union's position should be that the war must end regardless of economic considerations, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said, Reuters reported.

"We mustn't do anything that would add even more tension or cause the situation to escalate further," he told reporters in Brussels.

Some EU members such as Germany, Italy or Greece have also signalled they will not join military operations in the strait, while others including Denmark have yet to make a decision.

 

 

 


UK PM Starmer Says Work to Reopen Strait of Hormuz Will Not Be NATO-led

13 March 2026, Ireland, Cork: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets student researchers at the Tyndall National Institute in Cork. Photo: Cathal Mcnaughton/PA Wire/dpa
13 March 2026, Ireland, Cork: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets student researchers at the Tyndall National Institute in Cork. Photo: Cathal Mcnaughton/PA Wire/dpa
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UK PM Starmer Says Work to Reopen Strait of Hormuz Will Not Be NATO-led

13 March 2026, Ireland, Cork: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets student researchers at the Tyndall National Institute in Cork. Photo: Cathal Mcnaughton/PA Wire/dpa
13 March 2026, Ireland, Cork: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets student researchers at the Tyndall National Institute in Cork. Photo: Cathal Mcnaughton/PA Wire/dpa

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday that ongoing work to reopen the Strait of Hormuz would not be a NATO mission but would involve a broad alliance ‌including Gulf ‌partners as well ‌as ⁠European countries and the ⁠United States.

"We are working with others to come up with a credible plan for the Straits ⁠of Hormuz to ‌ensure ‌that we can reopen shipping and ‌passage through the ‌Strait. Let me be clear, that won't be and it's never been envisioned ‌to be a NATO mission," Starmer told reporters.

"That ⁠will ⁠have to be an alliance of partners, which is why we're working with partners, both in Europe, in the Gulf, and with the US."


Kremlin Dismisses FT Report that Ukraine Peace Process is Fizzling Out

People gather on a bridge in front of the Kremlin during sunset on a warm and sunny day in Moscow, Russia, 13 March 2026. EPA/SERGEI ILNITSKY
People gather on a bridge in front of the Kremlin during sunset on a warm and sunny day in Moscow, Russia, 13 March 2026. EPA/SERGEI ILNITSKY
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Kremlin Dismisses FT Report that Ukraine Peace Process is Fizzling Out

People gather on a bridge in front of the Kremlin during sunset on a warm and sunny day in Moscow, Russia, 13 March 2026. EPA/SERGEI ILNITSKY
People gather on a bridge in front of the Kremlin during sunset on a warm and sunny day in Moscow, Russia, 13 March 2026. EPA/SERGEI ILNITSKY

The Kremlin on Monday dismissed a report by the Financial Times which suggested that the Ukraine peace process was fizzling out because US President Donald Trump's attention was now on Iran and he was losing interest in Ukraine as a result.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia had noted such media reports, but had reached ⁠a different conclusion ⁠about Trump's attitude towards Ukraine peace talks.

"President Trump's frequent references to Ukraine in his recent statements suggest the opposite," Peskov told reporters, according to Reuters.

"Judging by his statements, President Trump has ⁠lost no interest whatsoever. Furthermore, he is strongly urging (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskiy to strike a deal."

Trump expressed frustration with Zelenskiy in an interview with Politico earlier this month, saying the Ukrainian president "has to get on the ball, and he has to get a deal done."

Trump also rejected Zelenskiy's offer ⁠to ⁠help the US with downing drones over the Gulf states, telling NBC's Meet the Press that the "last person we need help from is Zelenskiy."

Peskov said Russia was still interested in continuing talks to end the war, but that a venue and date for the next round of negotiations remained unclear.