A Russian drone bombed a spent nuclear fuel storage facility in the Chernobyl exclusion zone on Sunday, Ukrainian officials said, accusing Moscow of once again endangering nuclear infrastructure.Authorities said radiation levels remained within normal limits despite the damage to the site.According to Reuters, the Ukrainian General Staff and the state nuclear agency said a drone struck a building at the central spent fuel storage facility, located about 15 kilometers from the abandoned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986.The agencies said the container reception building at the facility was partially destroyed in the raid.However, no spent nuclear fuel was stored in the affected structure at that time. A fire broke out following the attack, but it was later extinguished, and no injuries were reported.
Kyiv accuses Russia of endangering nuclear safety
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the strike, saying Russia deliberately targeted critical nuclear infrastructure.“Today, the Russians once again struck the special zone surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
“Shahid” struck one of the buildings of the central spent fuel storage facility. “A critical infrastructure facility – and a very despicable Russian strike.”He said that radiation readings remained within normal background levels, but warned that Russia’s actions showed increasing recklessness.“Russia deliberately struck this nuclear infrastructure facility. So far, there are no readings beyond normal background radiation levels.
“But there is definitely an increase in Russia’s impudence, which has been off the charts for a long time,” he added.
Zelensky also said Russia launched a broader wave of attacks across Ukraine over the past week, alleging that Moscow launched 88 missiles, more than 3,250 attack drones and about 1,800 guided aerial bombs.
The International Atomic Energy Agency reported that radiation levels were stable
The International Atomic Energy Agency said that Ukraine informed it of the drone attack on a spent fuel storage facility in the Chernobyl exclusion zone.
The agency noted that, according to the Ukrainian authorities, radiation levels at the site remained within established safety limits.Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sipha said that the incident highlighted a pattern of Russian actions targeting infrastructure related to nuclear energy.“This is not the first time that Russian forces have put Ukrainian nuclear facilities at risk,” Sibiha wrote on X.He added, “Russia’s nuclear blackmail and threats to nuclear safety are systematic, deliberate, and unacceptable.”In February 2025, a Russian drone destroyed the protective containment arch covering the reactor destroyed in the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. Russia denied responsibility for this attack.Moscow and Kiev have also repeatedly accused each other of endangering the Russian-controlled Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 500 Ukrainian drones in the past 24 hours, highlighting the continued intensity of long-range attacks by both sides of the war.
