Kyiv: Ukraine has accused Russia of 'deliberate' actions following an airstrike that caused a power outage at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant near the border with Belarus. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the power cut lasted more than three hours.

According to Anadolu Agency, the Ukrainian Energy Ministry reported the blackout late Wednesday, attributing it to a Russian airstrike in Slavutych, a city in the Kyiv region. The attack disrupted the power supply to the New Safe Confinement (NSC) structure at the Chornobyl plant.

Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk confirmed that specialists fully restored the power supply to active facilities at the site. She also assured that radiation levels remained within control limits and posed no danger to the local population.

In a statement on the US social media platform X, Zelenskyy accused Russia of executing a 'deliberate' attack involving more than 20 drones, some of which were intercepted. He claimed the strike was designed to complicate the facility's defense.

Chornobyl, located near the abandoned city of Pripyat, is known for the 1986 nuclear disaster at its fourth reactor. The Soviet Union subsequently established a 30-kilometer exclusion zone. In 2016, the New Safe Confinement structure was built to isolate the damaged reactor and prevent radioactive releases as the plant undergoes decommissioning.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated on X that the Chornobyl plant switched to alternative power lines during the outage, which was later resolved. Director General Rafael Grossi noted that all facilities, except the NSC, were powered, with the NSC relying on emergency diesel generators.

President Zelenskyy also addressed the ongoing outage at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, accusing Russia of causing the blackout. He criticized the IAEA and Director General Grossi for their perceived weak response and urged global powers to take decisive action.

Both Russia and Ukraine have been blaming each other for the prolonged power outage at the Zaporizhzhia plant, which has been under Russian control since March 2022. IAEA personnel have been stationed at the site since September 1, 2022, as concerns over a potential nuclear disaster persist.