Ukraine says fault at nuclear power plant cuts power output but poses no danger

KYIV, Ukraine – Ukraine’s energy minister says a technical fault at a nuclear power plant in the south of country has cut power production but insists it poses no danger.

Volodymr Demchishin said Wednesday that a short circuit at a power-generating unit in the Zaporozhiya plant led to a drop in electricity production. He says normal output will be restored by the weekend.

The plant’s operator announced Monday that a problem had occurred with a power-generating unit, but concern was provoked Wednesday after Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk referred to the incident during a Cabinet meeting.

Demchishin said the fault occurred in the electricity transmission system and not in the reactor.

Anxieties over nuclear safety run high in Ukraine, which continues to struggle with the legacy of the Chornobyl disaster of 1986.