Russia Strikes Chornobyl Nuclear Plant With Drone

Russia reportedly landed a direct strike on the sarcophagus encapsulating reactor number four at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) using a drone in the early hours of Friday.

President Volodymyr Zelenksy announced the attack and shared footage of the attack on social media. He described the damage as “significant” though he said no radiation spike was detected.

“The shelter at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant was damaged by this drone. The fire was extinguished. At present, the radiation background has not increased, and this is constantly monitored. According to initial estimates, the damage to the shelter is significant,” Zelensky said. 

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also confirmed the attack. As of 8:41 a.m., it said no radiation spike was detected.

“At this moment, there is no indication of a breach in the [New Safe Confinement] NSC’s inner containment. Radiation levels inside and outside remain normal and stable. No casualties reported. IAEA continues monitoring the situation,” IAEA’s X update says.

Reactor number four at Chornobyl was the site of the catastrophic 1986 nuclear disaster, which was caused by operator errors and escalated into a disaster due to the Soviet authorities’ inadequate response.

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The radiation resulting from the disaster has led to long-term health issues, such as cancer and birth defects, and environmental devastation concentrated mainly in Ukraine and neighboring Belarus. It has led to the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, covering an area of approximately 30 kilometers around the plant.

At the onset of the 2022 invasion, Russian troops ignored station worker warnings to avoid terrain contaminated by radiation, and hundreds of them lived for more than a month in trenches dug into ground saturated with potentially lethal isotopes, eyewitnesses and nuclear scientists told Kyiv Post in a 2024 interview.