Russian drone attack damages Chernobyl nuclear plant’s shelter, Zelensky says
By Reuters
Kyiv: A Russian drone with a high-explosive warhead caused significant damage to the radiation shelter of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday.
Chernobyl was the site of the world’s worst civil nuclear catastrophe when one of its four reactors exploded in 1986. That reactor is now enveloped by a protective shelter, known as a sarcophagus, to contain the lingering radiation.
The Russian drone struck the shelter of the destroyed power unit at the plant, causing a fire that had since been extinguished, Zelensky said.
“As of now, radiation levels have not increased and are being constantly monitored,” he said, adding that an initial assessment had found significant damage.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied that Russia had struck Chernobyl.
It was not immediately possible to independently confirm Ukraine’s claim of Russian responsibility.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said the strike occurred at 1.50am local time (10.50am AEDT). It said there was “no indication of a breach in the … inner containment” shell.
The three-year Russia-Ukraine war has brought repeated warnings of dangers to Ukraine’s four nuclear plants, especially at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, which is Europe’s biggest and one of the 10 largest in the world.
Separately, Russia on Friday accused Ukraine of carrying out an artillery attack on a thermal power plant it controls in southern Ukraine, which is located near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station.
Russian-installed local officials said the attack on the power plant in the city of Enerhodar had occurred late on February 13, leaving more than 50,000 people without electricity.
Russian news agencies cited a nuclear plant official as saying that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant itself had not been damaged in the attack and was operating as usual.
IAEA chief Rafael Rossi, said on social media platform X that the strike at the Chernobyl plant and the recent increase in military activity near the Zaporizhzhia plant “underline persistent nuclear safety risks”, adding that the IAEA remained “on high alert”.
Reuters, AP
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