Kyiv, Ukraine
Belarus’ first nuclear power plant stopped generating electricity the day after it was formally opened by President Alexander Lukashenko and some of its equipment needs to be replaced, a Belarusian official told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Lukashenko inaugurated the Russian-built and -financed Astravyets plant on Saturday. The plant stopped producing power Sunday because some electrical equipment broke down, according to Oleg Sobolev, a consultant at the Belarusian Emergency Ministry’s department of nuclear and radiation safety.
The problem didn’t pose a threat either to Belarus or to neighboring Lithuania, Sobolev told the AP. Lithuanian officials long opposed the plant, citing nuclear safety concerns.
“The turbine is stopped. There is indeed no electricity generation at the nuclear power plant, but this does not affect nuclear and radiation safety,” he said.—AP
