Kyiv (TDI): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that a protective shield over the destroyed fourth reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant had been struck overnight by a Russian attack drone carrying a high-explosive warhead.
The structure, known as the New Safe Confinement, was built through global cooperation to contain the remnants of the 1986 Chornobyl disaster.
It was designed to prevent radiation leaks and protect the site and the broader area from environmental hazards.
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Zelenskyy said that the strike by a Russian attack drone carrying a high-explosive warhead damaged the dome, but the blaze was extinguished, and radiation levels remained stable.
The situation is being monitored to assess any potential dangers.
Zelenskyy posted a video of the explosion on social media showing the moment of impact, terming the attack “a terrorist threat to the whole world.”
“The only country in the world that attacks such sites possesses nuclear power plants and wages war without any regard for the consequences is today’s Russia.”
He added that the attack highlights Russia’s continued disregard for global security.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed the explosion and the resulting damage.
A drone hit the roof of the shield, it reported.
The agency said in a statement on X that radiation levels inside and outside remain normal and stable, and the agency continues monitoring the situation.
Chernobyl, the site of the worst nuclear disaster in the world, remains a highly sensitive location.
The explosion of the plant’s reactor on 26 April 1986 contaminated a vast area spanning Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus.
The site is located approximately 130 kilometers north of Kyiv.
`Russian troops briefly occupied it in the early days of the full-scale invasion. Russian, Drone, Chernobyl Nuclear Plant, Ukraine, President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy
