A Russian drone attack with an explosive warhead struck the containment shelter of the fourth reactor at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant overnight on Feb. 14 as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the action as a terrorist attack.
The French-designed shelter, which has a service lifespan of 100 years, protects the active remains of the reactor, plays a crucial role in “safeguarding the world from radiation,” Zelenskyy said.
The Kyiv regional power plant is considered the world’s worst nuclear fallout accidents and transpired in 1986 under Kremlin-led management when Ukraine was a captive nation of the Soviet Union – an explosion occurred at the fourth reactor, the same one that Russia struck overnight.
The Soviet Union tried covering up the accident that released radiation levels 400 times higher than the Hiroshima bomb and was detected as far as Sweden further north two days later.
The Feb. 14 strike ignited a fire, but Ukrainian emergency services extinguished it.
Preliminary information shows significant damage to the shelter. Fortunately, radiation levels have remained stable, and “this is being closely monitored,” Zelenskyy said.
“This shelter was built by Ukraine in cooperation with other European countries and the world, including the United States – by all those who truly care about security for people,” he said.
The attack drone flew at a low altitude of just 85 meters.
“It’s important to understand that radars cannot detect this height, which suggests this was a deliberate act,” Zelenskyy said.
The attack came on the very day the Munich Security Conference began, which he pointed out.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed both the explosion and the fire at Chornobyl, but it did not specify the drone’s origin.
Some of the isotopes at the plant have a lifespan of thousands of years.
“IAEA continues monitoring the situation,” they said.
The only country in the world capable of targeting nuclear facilities, “occupying power plants, and conducting military operations without regard for the consequences is today’s Russia,” Zelenskyy said.
“And this poses a terrorist threat to the entire world,” he added.
In addition, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is once again facing the risk of a blackout. One of its two power lines was cut off due to a recent Russian attack, the Ukraine’s Energy Ministry reported.
“The situation at Zaporizhzhia remains dire due to the ongoing Russian occupation. Only Ukraine regaining control over the plant can ensure the safe operation of Europe’s largest nuclear facility,” said Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko.
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