Russia Strikes Chernobyl Nuclear Storage Site, Ukraine Demands Action

(MENAFN) Ukraine called on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to intervene urgently on Sunday after accusing Russia of launching an overnight drone strike on a nuclear storage facility within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone — an attack officials are calling an unprecedented threat to global nuclear safety.

Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Smyhal confirmed that a Russian drone struck a building at Ukraine's Centralized Spent Fuel Storage Facility, igniting a fire that was subsequently extinguished. The strike caused partial structural damage, Smyhal warned, characterizing the incident as posing an "unprecedented threat to nuclear and radiation safety."

"Such actions create risks to critical systems essential for the safe storage of nuclear materials and represent a blatant violation of international law, the principles of nuclear safety, and the IAEA fundamental safety principles," he wrote on U.S. social media company X.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy separately accused Moscow of deliberately targeting the nuclear infrastructure site. While offering a measure of immediate reassurance, he made no effort to downplay the gravity of the escalation.

"As of now, there are no readings exceeding normal background radiation levels," he said on X. "But there is certainly an increase in Russia's brazenness, which long ago went off the charts."

Zelenskyy also disclosed that Russian forces simultaneously struck civilian infrastructure across 13 regions of Ukraine, revealing the staggering scale of the week's bombardment: "In total, over the course of this past week, Russia launched 88 missiles, more than 3,250 attack drones, and around 1,800 guided aerial bombs against Ukraine."

The IAEA responded swiftly, announcing via X that its team already present at the Chernobyl site would conduct an immediate inspection to assess the full extent of the damage. Director General Rafael Grossi did not mince words, describing the incident as "deeply concerning" and asserting that "attacks on nuclear sites are completely unacceptable and in direct contravention of key nuclear safety principles."

Russia had not issued any response to Ukraine's allegations regarding the strike on the spent fuel storage facility at the time of publication.

MENAFN07062026000045017169ID1111222396