Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Drone Strike

On 14 February 2025, an unmanned aerial vehicle hit the New Safe Confinement structure at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. The attack resulted in significant damage to the protective shelter, but did not lead to increased radiation levels in the surrounding area. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a Russian combat drone carrying a "high-explosive warhead" had struck the structure. Russia denied the allegations, instead suggesting that Ukrainian officials made the claim to disrupt peace negotiations.

Background

The strike immediately preceded the Munich Security Conference in Germany, where the Vice President of the United States JD Vance was scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The day prior to the strike, United States President Donald Trump announced potential peace negotiations following what he described as a "highly productive" conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Strike

In the early hours of 14 February 2025, at approximately 1:50 am local time, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) personnel stationed at the Chernobyl site reported hearing an explosion at the New Safe Confinement facility. The facility was constructed to prevent the release of remaining radioactivity from the site of the Chernobyl disaster.

Visual evidence of the strike, shared by President Zelenskyy on social media platform Twitter/X, depicted an intense flash of light emanating from roof of the facility above Reactor 4, followed by a substantial column of smoke rising into the sky. Ukrainian emergency services responded promptly to extinguish the resulting fire.

According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the drone that conducted the strike was a HESA Shahed 136, an Iranian-designed type of drone. Iran supplied such drones to Russia throughout the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its use by Russia was well-documented during the war. The claim was supported by Marcel Plichta of the Centre for Global Law and Governance at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, who added that "Russia frequently uses attacks like this to regain control of the narrative". Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski and the Centre for Eastern Studies also said that a Russian Shahed drone had struck the plant.

Ukraine had been attacked that night by Russian forces with 133 Shahed drones, 73 of which were shot down, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. British colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon wrote for ''The Daily Telegraph'' that there did not appear to be any viable military targets in the vicinity of Reactor 4 and that, "from what we know", Shahed drones were highly accurate in their attacks. He stated that although the drone strike could have been deliberately aimed, it was impossible to be sure due to the attack with over 100 drones that night.

Aftermath

Following the strike, Ukrainian authorities conducted immediate assessments of the structural damage and potential radiation risks. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine confirmed that radiation levels remained within normal parameters, though initial evaluations indicated substantial damage to the protective shelter. President Zelenskyy later shared photographic evidence purportedly showing the interior of the damaged sarcophagus.

IAEA experts conducted a walkdown of the containment structure the following day, and observed that the fire had apparently been fuelled by inflammable material in the roof cladding. They observed that a large area had been affected, and confirmed that both the outer and inner cladding had been breached, causing a hole of about six metres diameter. The structural support beams did not appear to have suffered major damage. IAEA experts also stated that the observed remains of a drone that Ukraine attributed to the strike were consistent with a Shahed-type drone. The IAEA has not attributed blame to either side of the conflict.

Two weeks later the roof insulation was still smouldering. Thermal imaging was used to direct the injection of water to extinguish the fires, and repairs to the cladding were started.

Reactions

President Zelenskyy described the attack and ongoing drone strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure as evidence that Russian leadership was not genuinely interested in diplomatic solutions, suggesting instead that such actions demonstrated an intent to "continue deceiving the world". He urged the international community to institute "pressure on the aggressor", insisting that "Russia must be held accountable for its actions."

The Russian government denied allegations of striking the power plant, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov

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