A Russian Shahed drone has substantially damaged a building at a spent nuclear fuel storage facility near the decommissioned Chornobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky characterized the strike as deliberate and "extremely vile," suggesting it represented a direct message from Moscow during an intensifying campaign of long-range aerial attacks targeting high-profile locations on both sides.
The damaged structure, identified as the reception building of the spent fuel storage facility, was empty of fuel containers at the time of the attack, which occurred around 2am on Sunday. A fire covering approximately 40 square meters broke out following the strike but was quickly extinguished. No personnel were injured in the incident.
Zelensky condemned the attack ahead of a planned summit in London where he was scheduled to meet with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to discuss the ongoing conflict. "It was a critical infrastructure facility. And an extremely vile Russian attack," Zelensky said. He added that while radiation safety limits had not increased, the strike demonstrated what he called Russia's "already sky-high arrogance."
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha emphasized the pattern of Russian actions, stating on social media that this was not the first time Russian forces had endangered Ukrainian nuclear facilities. "Russia's nuclear blackmail and threats to nuclear safety are systemic, deliberate, and unacceptable," he said.
The spent fuel storage facility sits approximately nine miles from the Chornobyl plant, which experienced the world's worst nuclear accident in 1986. The centralised storage facility was designed to provide long-term containment for spent nuclear fuel from Ukraine's nuclear power plants.
Ukrainian state nuclear operator Energoatom reported that radiation levels at the site remained within normal limits following the attack. The International Atomic Energy Agency similarly confirmed that radiation levels stayed within established parameters, though its experts prepared to visit the damaged site to assess the situation. Energoatom stated the strike had demonstrated "the true face of the Kremlin regime, which deliberately poses threats to nuclear and radiation safety."
This attack represents part of an escalating exchange of long-range strikes between Russia and Ukraine. On Saturday, a Ukrainian strike had targeted the historic naval town of Kronstadt near St. Petersburg as an economic forum concluded there. Russia's defense ministry claimed its air defenses had downed 500 Ukrainian drones in the previous 24 hours.
In February 2025, a Russian attack drone had damaged a containment arch covering the reactor destroyed in the 1986 explosion, though Russia denied responsibility for that incident. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine, Europe's largest, has also been caught in the fighting, with both sides exchanging accusations of attacks on the facility.
Russia has not publicly commented on the Chornobyl strike.