A drone damaged the outer shell of Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear plant. Radiation levels are normal – The Associated Press
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Ukraine’s president says a Russian drone with a high-explosive warhead struck the protective shell of Chernobyl nuclear reactor. Video footage shared by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine shows the moment of the impact and the damage to the confinement.
A view of the containment vessel that protects the remains of reactor number four at the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant and built to contain radiation, after a drone attack in Chernobyl, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Ukrainian Emergency Service, the damaged protective shell over the fourth reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is seen from inside following a drone strike, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, damages of sarcophagus that covers the destroyed 4th reactor of Chernobyl nuclear power plant is seen from inside following a Russian drone attack in Chernobyl, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
Ukrainian serviceman stands on a vehicle with anti-aircraft gun after a drone attack at the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Fragments of an explosive device are displayed by Ukrainian authorities after a drone attack at the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
A view of the containment vessel that protects the remains of reactor number four at the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant and built to contain radiation, after a drone attack, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
A view of the containment vessel that protects the remains of reactor number four at the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant and built to contain radiation, after a drone attack in Chernobyl, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR POWER STATION, Ukraine (AP) — A drone armed with a warhead hit the protective outer shell of Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear plant early Friday, punching a hole in the structure and briefly starting a fire, in an attack Kyiv blamed on Russia. The Kremlin denied it was responsible.
Radiation levels at the shuttered plant in the Kyiv region — site of the world’s worst nuclear accident — have not increased, according to the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency, which said the strike did not breach the plant’s inner containment shell.
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, damages of sarcophagus that covers the destroyed 4th reactor of Chernobyl nuclear power plant is seen from inside following a Russian drone attack in Chernobyl, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
The IAEA did not attribute blame, saying only that its team stationed at the site heard an explosion and was informed that a drone had struck the shell.
Fighting around nuclear power plants has repeatedly raised fears of a nuclear catastrophe during three years of war, particularly in a country where many vividly remember the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, which killed at least 30 people and spewed radioactive fallout over much of the Northern Hemisphere.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is Europe’s biggest, has occasionally been hit by drones during the war without causing significant damage.
A view of the containment vessel that protects the remains of reactor number four at the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant and built to contain radiation, after a drone attack, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
The strike came two days after President Donald Trump upended U.S. policy on Ukraine, saying he would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss ending the war. The move seemed to identify Putin as the only player that matters and looked set to sideline Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as well as European governments, in any peace talks.
The hit on Chernobyl occurred as Ukraine is being slowly pushed back by Russia’s bigger army along parts of the 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line and is desperately seeking more Western help.
Zelenskyy said a Russian drone with a high-explosive warhead hit the plant’s outer shell and started a fire, which has been put out. The shell was built in 2016 over another heavy concrete containment structure, which was placed on the plant’s fourth reactor soon after the 1986 disaster. Both shells seek to prevent radiation leaks.
Ukrainian serviceman stands on a vehicle with anti-aircraft gun after a drone attack at the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
The Ukrainian Emergency Service provided a photograph that showed a hole in the roof of the outer shield, which is a massive steel-and-concrete structure weighing some 40,000 tons (36,000 metric tons) and tall enough to fit Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral inside.
Ukrainian Emergency Se
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