A Russian drone hit the Centralized Irradiated Fuel Storage Facility (CSSF) in the early hours of this Sunday (7), located in the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in Ukraine. The attack occurred at around 2:10 a.m. local time and caused a fire at the facility, state operator Energoatom said.
The drone hit a container reception building and caused serious material damage, according to Energoatom. Other buildings in the vicinity were also affected by the shock wave. Both Kiev’s General Staff and the state nuclear agency said radiation levels remained stable and no injuries were reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky classified the episode as deliberate and condemned the action in a publication in Zelensky specified that the projectile used was an Iranian-made Shahed drone.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it had been notified by the Ukrainian government about the attack and confirmed significant damage to the fuel reception building, adding that it would send experts to the site soon to assess the impact.
The Ukrainian government contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Energy and other services to communicate what happened to international partners, according to Zelensky. The president was meeting this Sunday in London with the leaders of France, Germany and the United Kingdom, amid renewed diplomatic efforts after Vladimir Putin refused a Ukrainian proposal for a direct meeting.
This morning’s attack is not the first on the Chernobyl region during the war. In February 2025, a Russian drone had struck the plant’s secure containment structure, causing significant damage to the protective shelter without raising radiation levels in the area.
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(com Reuters)
