Radiation Concerns After Ukraine Says Russian Attack Hit Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor
The International Atomic Energy Agency said it was on 'high alert' after a drone hit the reactor's protective shell
Ukraine said a Russian drone attack struck the protective containment shell of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant overnight, and the International Atomic Energy Agency said it "remains on high alert" for radiation leaks.
The strike at the nuclear reaction, the site of the world's worst nuclear accident, did not breach the plant's inner containment shell, the Associated Press reported and radiation levels have reportedly remained stable.
A fire caused by the attack has been doused.
IAEA Chief Rafael Rossi said on X that the recent increase in military activities near the plant "underline persistent nuclear safety risks."
"There is no room for complacency, and the IAEA remains on high alert," he said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied claims that Russia was behind the attack.
"There is no talk about strikes on nuclear infrastructure, nuclear energy facilities, any such claim isn't true, our military doesn't do that," Peskov said in a conference call, the AP reported.
The strike comes in the wake of President Donald Trump's phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and the announcement that the two would meet to discuss ending the three-year-old war in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack on Chernobyl indicates that Putin "is certainly not preparing for negotiations."
"The only state in the world that can attack such facilities, occupy the territory of nuclear power plants, and conduct hostilities without any regard for the consequences is today's Russia. And this is a terrorist threat to the entire world," he wrote on social media, the AP reported.
"Russia must be held accountable for what it is doing," he added.
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