(Reuters) -Russian air strikes have cut power to the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said on Wednesday, including a new containment unit erected to minimise contamination from the world’s biggest nuclear accident.

Energy officials also said the shelling had caused mass power outages in nearby Chernihiv region, cutting off 307,000 customers near Ukraine’s northern border with Russia.

The Chernihiv region’s governor said generators had been set up for key sites like hospitals, and emergency crews were working on restoring the power network.

The Energy Ministry statement made no mention of any possible increased risk of radioactive release as a result of the power cutoff to the defunct Chernobyl station. But it said emergency crews were working to re

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