Electricity supply has been restored at Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which was seized by Russian forces in the early days of the invasion, energy officials in Kiev said on Sunday.

“Today, thanks to the incredible efforts of [Ukrainian energy] specialists, our nuclear engineers and electricians managed to restore the power supply to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which was seized by the Russian occupiers,” Ukraine’s Energy Minister German Galushchenko said in a statement.

“Our Ukrainian energy engineers, by risking their own health and lives, were able to avert the risk of a possible nuclear disaster that threatened the whole of Europe,” he added.

Power had been cut at the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster, although the UN’s atomic watchdog said there was “no critical safety impact”.

An explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986 killed hundreds and spread a radioactive cloud across Europe.

Ukraine said on Wednesday that power had been cut at the plant, but the UN’s atomic watchdog said there was “no critical impact on safety”.

Russian forces also bombed and captured the Zaporizhzhia power plant, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, on March 4, sparking a fire that raised alarm in Europe about a possible nuclear disaster.

Russian engineers arrived in Zaporizhzhia earlier this week to check radiation levels.