Authorities began distributing iodine tablets to residents near Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant Friday in case of a radiation leak, amid mounting fears that the fighting around the complex could trigger a catastrophe.
The move came a day after the plant was temporarily knocked offline because of what officials said was fire damage to a transmission line. The incident heightened dread of a nuclear disaster in a country still haunted by the 1986 explosion at Chernobyl.
The U.N.'s atomic energy agency has been trying to send a team in to inspect and help secure the plant. Officials said preparations for the trip were underway, but it remained unclear when it might take place. Exactly what went wrong was not clear, but Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy said the plant's emergency backup diesel generators had to be activated to supply electricity to operate the complex.
The country's nuclear power agency, Energoatom, said the plant had been reconnected to the grid and was producing electricity “for Ukraine’s needs.” Lana Zerkal, an adviser to Ukraine's energy minister, told Ukrainian media that the logistics for an IAEA visit were still being worked out. Zerkal accused Russia of trying to sabotage the visit.
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