A Russian drone strike hit the protective shelter over Chernobyl’s damaged nuclear reactor, causing a fire that was later extinguished, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that radiation levels at the site remained stable, though Oleksandr Titarchuk, the plant’s chief engineer, warned of a potential radioactive leak.
Russia denied targeting Chernobyl, stating its military does not strike Ukrainian nuclear infrastructure. The IAEA confirmed that emergency crews responded quickly, and no casualties were reported.
Zelensky posted footage appearing to show damage to the massive concrete and steel radiation shield, which covers the reactor that exploded in 1986. Hryhoriy Ishchenko, head of the exclusion zone management agency, warned that a strike just 50 feet away could have triggered a radiation accident.
Experts expressed concern over the attack but noted that Chernobyl’s thick concrete containment structure protects against radiation release. Simon Evans, former head of the Chernobyl Shelter Fund, called it “an incredibly reckless attack on a vulnerable nuclear facility.”
The strike comes amid rising tensions around Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, where military activity has raised fears of a major nuclear incident.
