Ukrainian officials report that a Russian Shahed drone struck a facility used for storing spent nuclear fuel in the Chornobyl exclusion zone near the decommissioned Chornobyl nuclear power plant. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack as “extremely vile” and said Russia deliberately targeted the nuclear infrastructure facility. Multiple outlets cite Zelenskyy as saying radiation levels did not exceed permitted limits after the strike. Energoatom, Ukraine’s state nuclear energy company, says the reception building for the central storage facility was partially destroyed and that no spent nuclear fuel containers were stored there at the time. It also reports a fire that broke out in an area of about 40 square meters and was later extinguished.
The outlets describe the incident as part of an ongoing pattern of long-range aerial attacks affecting areas in and around Ukraine’s northern regions. Ukraine says it informs partners about the event through relevant ministries and agencies, while the reporting emphasizes the absence of radiation spikes and the limited damage confined to the struck building.
