Russian Drone Strikes Spent Nuclear Fuel Facility Near Chornobyl, Ukraine Says

KYIV – A Russian attack drone struck a facility housing spent nuclear fuel storage near the decommissioned Chornobyl power plant, Ukrainian officials said Sunday, in what President Volodymyr Zelenskiy condemned as an “extremely vile” act of nuclear terrorism. While the strike caused significant damage, authorities confirmed no increase in radiation levels had been detected.

The attack targeted a fuel-reception building located approximately 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the Chornobyl plant, the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which said it had been briefed by Ukraine, the strike “significantly damaged” a building just meters away from where “large amounts of nuclear material” are stored.

No Radiation Spike, No Injuries Reported

Ukraine’s state atomic energy agency, Energoatom, clarified that no spent nuclear fuel was actually stored inside the damaged building at the time of the attack. A fire that broke out following the strike was quickly extinguished, and there were no reported injuries.

“As of now, there are no readings exceeding normal background radiation levels,” Zelenskiy wrote on social media platform X. “But there is certainly an increase in Russia’s brazenness, which long ago went off the charts.”

Zelenskiy identified the weapon as a Russian Shahed attack drone an Iranian-designed loitering munition commonly used by Moscow in its regular long-range strikes against Ukrainian critical infrastructure.

IAEA to Inspect, Russia Silent

In a statement, the IAEA said its team would visit the site soon “to inspect the impact” and assess any potential safety or security risks. The agency, which has repeatedly warned against military action near nuclear facilities, did not immediately assign blame but noted the seriousness of the incident.

Russia has not publicly commented on the alleged strike on the facility.

A Pattern of Threats to Nuclear Sites

The attack is the latest in a series of dangerous incidents involving nuclear infrastructure during the war. In February 2025, a Russian Shahed drone damaged the New Safe Confinement a massive containment arch built over the reactor destroyed in the 1986 Chornobyl meltdown. At the time, Russia denied responsibility for that strike.

Ukraine and Russia have also repeatedly accused each other of attacking the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southeastern Ukraine, Europe’s largest nuclear facility. That plant has been under Russian military occupation since the early months of the full-scale invasion, and both sides have warned of the risk of a catastrophic radiation leak.

‘Extremely Critical Infrastructure’

Zelenskiy underscored the gravity of targeting such sites. “An extremely critical infrastructure facility – and an extremely vile Russian strike,” he wrote.

While radiation levels remain normal, the incident has heightened international concern over the safety of Ukraine’s nuclear sites amid ongoing hostilities. The IAEA has called for maximum restraint and the establishment of a demilitarized zone around all nuclear facilities, though such measures have yet to materialize.

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