Chernobyl fuel facility hit: Nuclear fears resurface, Kyiv says Russian attack ‘deliberate'

Ukrainian officials reported that a Russian drone hit a container-receiving building at the Centralised Spent Fuel Storage Facility near Chernobyl on Sunday. The strike caused partial destruction, but no spent nuclear fuel was stored in the affected structure, and radiation levels remained within normal limits. A fire broke out after the attack but was extinguished, with no casualties reported. Ukraine’s General Staff and state nuclear agency confirmed the incident, stating the facility is located about 15 kilometers from the abandoned Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack, calling it a deliberate strike on critical infrastructure. He warned that Russia’s actions demonstrated growing recklessness, despite radiation readings staying within safe levels. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was informed of the attack and noted that Ukrainian authorities confirmed radiation levels remained within safety limits. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Russia of systemic nuclear blackmail, highlighting this as part of a pattern of targeting nuclear facilities. This incident follows a February 2025 Russian drone attack on the protective containment arch of Chernobyl’s destroyed reactor, which Moscow denied. Both sides have previously accused each other of endangering the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest nuclear facility, which is under Russian control. Russia’s defense ministry claimed its air defenses had intercepted 500 Ukrainian drones in the past 24 hours, underscoring the escalating long-range strikes in the ongoing war. Ukrainian officials also reported a broader wave of Russian attacks, including 88 missiles, over 3,250 drones, and around 1,800 guided aerial bombs across the country.