Explained: What are the reasons behind latest scare at Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine?

The International Atomic Energy Agency has said it “sees no critical impact on safety” at the plant, which was the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident in April 1986. When fighting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine resulted in power cuts to the critical cooling system at the closed Chernobyl nuclear power plant, some feared that spent nuclear fuel would overheat. The International Atomic Energy Agency also said it “sees no critical impact on safety” at the plant, which was the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident in April 1986. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the plant, which was occupied by Russian forces earlier in the 24 February invasion, “lost all electric supply,” and he called on the international community “to urgently demand Russia to cease fire and allow repair units to restore power supply.” French government spokesman Gabriel Attal underscored that Russian leader Vladimir Putin had “committed to guarantee the security and safety of nuclear sites in Ukraine” in his phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday. He said the current scenario wasn’t like the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown or the disaster at the Fukushima plant with fuel rods so fresh and hot “that you need to keep water flowing through continually.” After the Fukushima disaster, which was caused by an earthquake and tsunami, the Ukrainian government commissioned a study to look at the meltdown potential from power loss to the cooling of rods.