Wikipedia
A Russian drone carrying a high-explosive payload struck the protective confinement shell of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Kyiv region overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Friday.
Zelenskyy and the United Nations Atomic Energy Agency both stated that radiation levels have not increased.
Russian officials had no quick reply, and it was unable to independently validate Ukraine’s accusation of Russian involvement. Zelenskyy stated that the drone hit damaged the structure and created a fire, which was extinguished.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the strike took place at 1:50 a.m. local time (2350 GMT). It stated that there was no indication of a breach in the inner containment shell.
The shell is a protective cover for the plant’s fourth reactor, which exploded in 1986, resulting in one of the worst nuclear accidents in history. Built in 2016, the shell is intended to reduce the amount of radiation released into the atmosphere from the reactor.
The three-year Russia-Ukraine war has resulted in repeated warnings of hazards to Ukraine’s four nuclear reactors, particularly the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in southern Ukraine, Europe’s largest and one of the top ten in the world.
IAEA chief Rafael Rossi stated on X that the strike at the CNPP, as well as the recent surge in military activity near the Zaporizhzhia plant, highlight ongoing nuclear safety dangers, and that the IAEA remains on high alert.
