Chernobyl nuclear power plant hit by Russian drone claims Zelenskyy, Kremlin denies charge

“During the night of 13-14 Feb, at around 01:50, IAEA team at the Chornobyl site heard an explosion coming from the New Safe Confinement, which protects the remains of reactor 4 of the former Chornobyl NPP, causing a fire. They were informed that a UAV had struck the NSC roof,” IAEA said via a post on social media platform X.

“Fire safety personnel and vehicles responded within minutes. At this moment, there is no indication of a breach in the NSC’s inner containment. Radiation levels inside and outside remain normal and stable. No casualties reported. IAEA continues monitoring the situation,” the agency added.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, however, denied Ukrainian claims that Russia struck the outer protective shell of the Chernobyl nuclear plant with a drone.

“There is no talk about striking on nuclear infrastructure, nuclear energy facilities, any such claim isn’t true, our military doesn’t do that,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.

He suggested Ukrainian officials made the claim about an overnight strike because they wanted to thwart efforts to end the war through negotiations, after US President Donald Trump spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin about reaching a peace deal.

“It’s obvious that there are those (in the Ukrainian government) who will continue to oppose any attempts to launch a negotiation process, and it’s obvious that those people will do everything to try to derail this process,” Peskov said.

The Chernobyl site, long associated with one of the worst nuclear accidents in history, now faces new dangers amid the ongoing conflict.

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