A drone equipped with an explosive warhead has created a hole in the radiation shield surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine, raising alarming safety concerns.
The plant’s chief engineer, Alexander Titarchuk, indicated there is a “possibility of a leak of radioactive substances,” but assured that “the situation is under control.” He noted that the barrier designed to contain radioactive materials is no longer functioning as intended. Emergency crews were seen repairing the damage after a fire briefly erupted. Despite the incident, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that radiation levels remained unchanged.
Zelenskyy described the strike as a “very clear greeting from Putin and the Russian Federation” during his address at the Munich Security Conference. The Chernobyl site was the location of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986, resulting in widespread radioactive contamination across Europe. The plant’s reactors are currently encased in a large protective structure.
Ukraine has attributed the drone attack to Russia, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the claim, stating, “Our military doesn’t do that.” The IAEA has not assigned blame, only confirming that its team on site heard an explosion. The exact origin of the strike has not been independently verified.
In light of ongoing conflicts, Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant—Europe’s largest—has also experienced occasional drone strikes without resulting in major accidents.
The Chernobyl incident occurred shortly after former President Donald Trump expressed a desire to meet with Vladimir Putin to discuss peace negotiations. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth cautioned that any agreement would likely not enable Ukraine to reclaim all territory lost to Russia since 2014, raising concerns about Ukraine’s position in future discussions.
President Zelenskyy has long emphasized the importance of recovering occupied land. He stated he would not engage in negotiations with Putin until a unified plan is agreed upon by the U.S. and Europe, expressing doubts about the clarity of the U.S. strategy moving forward. He called for Ukraine to maintain a military force of 1.5 million equipped with modern weapons, particularly if NATO membership aspirations are not realized.
Credit: Sky News
