A Russian Shahed drone has substantially damaged a building used to store spent nuclear fuel close to the disused Chornobyl nuclear power plant, in what Ukraine’s president described as a deliberate and “extremely vile” attack. While the structure – the reception building of the spent fuel storage facility – was empty of containers at the time, the targeting of the sensitive site appeared to be direct messaging from Moscow amid an intensifying battle of long-range aerial strikes in which high-profile locations on both sides have been hit.
“As of now, there is no heightening of radiation safety limits. But there is clearly a heightening of Russia’s already sky-high arrogance,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after the attack, which took place at about 2am.
“It was [a] critical infrastructure facility. And an extremely vile Russian attack.” Zelenskyy was due to meet Keir Starmer, the Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz on Sunday at a summit in London to discuss the continuing conflict.
Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine’s foreign minister, posted on X: “This is not the first time Russian forces are putting Ukrainian nuclear facilities at risk. Russia’s nuclear blackmail and threats to nuclear safety are systemic, deliberate, and unacceptable.” The spent fuel storage facility is located about 9 miles from the Chornobyl plant that in 1986 was the scene of the world’s worst nuclear accident.
A fire covering about 40 square metres broke out after Sunday’s strike and was extinguished. No personnel were injured.