A Russian drone carrying a high-explosive warhead struck the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine’s Kyiv region, Ukrainian officials stated Friday, Al Jazeera reported.
The strike occurred after Russia had launched 133 unmanned aerial vehicles across the border into Ukraine, according to Ukraine’s military.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the drone strike caused significant damage to the plant’s protective containment shelter and started a fire. Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze, and no casualties were reported.
Radiation levels at the site remain normal, both Zelenskyy and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed.
The Kremlin denied responsibility, stating that Russian forces do not target nuclear facilities. The IAEA, which monitors nuclear safety worldwide, did not assign blame but reported that the strike occurred at 1:50 a.m. local time. The agency said that there was no breach in the inner containment shell surrounding the plant’s damaged fourth reactor.
Ukraine’s air force said it had intercepted 73 of the drones, while electronic countermeasures likely prevented 58 others from reaching their targets. The military did not specify what happened to the remaining two drones.
The attack coincided with the opening of the Munich Security Conference in Germany, where world leaders and diplomats are discussing the ongoing war in Ukraine.