Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has condemned a Russian drone strike on a spent nuclear fuel storage facility near the Chernobyl plant as 'vile.' The UN's nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, confirmed it was informed of the attack and reported no increase in radiation levels at the site.

The facility, located approximately 15 kilometers from the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant—the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster in 1986—was hit by a Russian 'Shahed' drone, according to Ukrainian officials. The IAEA stated that a team would soon visit the site to inspect the impact.

Ukraine's General Staff and the state atomic agency said a container-receiving building was partially destroyed, but the facility contained no spent fuel at the time of the attack. A fire that broke out was extinguished, and no injuries were reported.

Zelenskyy wrote on X: 'Today, the Russians again struck the special territory around the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. A 'shahed' hit one of the buildings of the Centralized Spent Fuel Storage Facility.' He described the attack as 'an extremely vile Russian strike.'

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Russia of systemic nuclear blackmail, stating that threats to nuclear safety are deliberate and unacceptable. This incident follows a February 2025 attack on the Chernobyl reactor's containment arch, also attributed to a Russian drone.

The attack comes as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to host a meeting with Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to discuss continued support for Ukraine. The UK and France lead the so-called 'coalition of the willing' to provide security guarantees for Ukraine.

Source: www.dw.com