Attack was ‘extremely vile’ and deliberate, says Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Sunday (7 June) it had been informed by Ukraine of a drone attack early this morning on the central spent fuel storage facility within the Chornobyl nuclear power station exclusion zone.
The IAEA said the attack, which took place at about 02:00 local time, caused significant damage to the facility’s fuel reception building – including to the facade, windows and doors – and nearby buildings were also affected by the blast wave.
A fire covering about 40 square metres broke out after the attack and was extinguished, said state nuclear power operator Energoatom. No personnel were injured.
Radiation levels at the facility remain within established limits, Ukraine said. The IAEA team at the Chornobyl site will soon visit the facility to inspect the impact.
Unconfirmed reports said the attack was by a Shahed drone, a type manufactured in both Russia and Iran.
IAEA director-general Rafael Grossi said the incident was “deeply concerning” because it occurred at a facility containing large amounts of nuclear material, held in storage just metres away from the attacked building.
“Attacks on nuclear sites are completely unacceptable and in direct contravention of key nuclear safety principles, notably the Seven Indispensable Pillars for nuclear safety and security during a military conflict, Grossi said.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as deliberate and “extremely vile”.
“As of now, there is no heightening of radiation safety limits. But there is clearly a heightening of Russia’s already sky-high arrogance,” Zelenskyy said after the attack. “It was [a] critical infrastructure facility. And an extremely vile Russian attack.”
Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine’s foreign minister, posted on X: “This is not the first time Russian forces are putting Ukrainian nuclear facilities at risk. Russia’s nuclear blackmail and threats to nuclear safety are systemic, deliberate, and unacceptable.”
The spent fuel storage facility is about nine miles from the Chornobyl plant that in 1986 was the scene of the world’s worst nuclear accident.
Energoatom said: “The strike on a nuclear infrastructure facility has once again shown the world the true face of the Kremlin regime, which deliberately poses threats to nuclear and radiation safety.”
In February 2025, a Russian attack drone damaged the containment arch, known as the New Safe Confinement, that was built over the Chornobyl reactor that was destroyed in the 1986 explosion and meltdown. Russia denied responsibility.
Kyiv and Moscow have also traded accusations of attacking the Russian-occupied six-unit Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in south-eastern Ukraine, Europe’s largest.
