The only functioning reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear plant was restarted Monday and will gradually resume full capacity, officials said.
Chernobyl's No. 3 reactor was shut down June 16 for repairs linked to an unspecified malfunction in one of its turbine generators. Plant officials said there were no radiation leaks.The reactor was restarted before dawn Monday, said the state Ener-go-a-tom company, which runs Ukraine's nuclear power plants.
Chernobyl's No. 4 reactor was destroyed in a 1986 explosion and fire, the world's worst nuclear accident. Another reactor was shut down after being badly damaged by a 1991 fire, and a third is not operational.
Reactor No. 3, which has been undergoing repairs since last July, was restarted in mid-May.
Ukraine has pledged to close the ill-fated plant by 2000 but wants $1.2 billion in international aid first to build two new reactors to compensate for Chernobyl's lost energy and find new jobs for its workers.