Russian drone strikes shelter at Chornobyl nuclear plant overnight: Zelensky shares video footage

At night, Russia attacked the shelter of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant (ChNPP) with a strike drone with a high-explosive warhead.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and the head of the Presidential Office, Andrii Yermak, reported this on Telegram.

"A Russian strike drone with a high-explosive warhead hit the shelter that protects the world from the radiation of the destroyed 4th power unit of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant this night," the president wrote.

According to Zelensky, the shelter was once built by those who wanted safety for people:

• Ukraine,
• the United States,
• European allies.

At the same time, Russia remains the only country in the world that is capable of attacking such facilities, occupying the territory of nuclear power plants and not considering the consequences.

The president added that the fire resulting from the drone attack has already been eliminated.

Currently, the radiation levels remain stable, and authorities maintain control over the situation. Initial assessments indicate that the damage to the shelter is significant.

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"Russia carries out such attacks against Ukrainian infrastructure and our cities every night. Russia continues to increase its army. Russia does not change its crazy anti-human state rhetoric.

And this means that Putin [Vladimir Putin, the dictator of Russia, – ed.] is definitely not preparing for negotiations… Russia must bear responsibility for what it is doing," Zelensky added.

The published photos show a large hole in the shelter's roof and destruction in the middle.

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"After a drone hit the Chornobyl nuclear power plant. This is yet another proof that Russia is a threat to the whole world. Putin's troops deliberately attacked the Chornobyl nuclear power plant at night," Yermak captioned the photo.

The International Atomic Energy Agency also showed a photo of the aftermath of the strike on the shelter at the Chornobyl NPP. They specified that the incident occurred at around 01:50 a.m. local time.

"On the night of February 13-14, at around 01:50, the IAEA team at the Chornobyl site heard an explosion from the New Safe Confinement, which protects the remains of reactor No. 4 of the former Chornobyl NPP, which caused a fire. They were informed that a UAV had crashed into the roof of the NPP," the report said.

According to rescuers, after a Russian drone struck the shelter of the 4th power unit of the Chornobyl NPP, the radiation background indicators remained within normal limits.

"0.57 μSv/h was recorded at the Chornobyl NPP industrial site, which does not exceed permissible values," the rescuers said in a statement.

Radiation background monitoring is currently underway.

"The situation is under control. Follow official reports," the State Emergency Service said.

For reference:
At the beginning of the full-scale war, Russian terrorists also captured the Chornobyl NPP. The enemy held the station's personnel hostage, which created risks for nuclear safety.

On March 31, 2022, the occupiers left the station's territory, but before that, they stole equipment and documents and mined the territory. During the occupation, an increase in radiation levels was recorded due to the movement of heavy equipment, which raised contaminated dust.

On the night of February 14, the Russian army launched 133 Shahed drones over the territory of Ukraine. The defense forces shot down 73 enemy drones, and another 58 drones did not reach their targets (lost in location).

Kyiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Odesa, and Kharkiv regions suffered from the enemy attack.