Chernobyl Shield Hit by Russian Drone, Radiation Normal: Ukraine

A searchlight illuminates a hole in the roof—said to have been caused by a Russian drone—of the damaged sarcophagus that covers the destroyed fourth reactor of Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine, on Feb. 14, 2025. Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that a Russian drone armed with a warhead had struck the sarcophagus protecting the shell of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

The incident came after President Donald Trump said on Feb. 12 that he would meet with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, which began when Moscow invaded in Feb. 2022.

Zelenskyy said radiation levels at Chernobyl had not increased as a result of the drone attack, a fact the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed.

Zelenskyy said the drone strike damaged the structure and started a fire, which had been extinguished.

Zelenskyy claimed, on Telegram, that the Chernobyl strike showed, “Putin is certainly not preparing for negotiations.”

The Ukrainian authorities released images of the damaged sarcophagus of the Chernobyl 4 reactor which overheated and went into meltdown during a routine safety test at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant on Apr. 26, 1986.

The disaster killed 90 workers at the plant and caused the evacuation of 350,000 people from the area, most of whom were never able to return to their homes.

The outer shell was built in 2016, over a heavy concrete containment structure which had been laid over the fourth reactor soon after the 1986 disaster—one of the worst accidents in nuclear history.

Russia has made no immediate comment about the incident and Kyiv’s claim cannot be independently verified.

The IAEA said, in a post on X, its team at Chernobyl heard an explosion and were informed a drone had struck the sarcophagus.

‘No Casualties Reported’

It said the damage occurred at 1:50 a.m., but said there was “no indication of a breach in the … inner containment” shell.

“Radiation levels inside and outside remain normal and stable. No casualties reported,” added the IAEA.

The head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Andrii Yermak, wrote on his Telegram channel that Ukraine intended to provide detailed information to the U.S. about the Chernobyl incident during the Munich Security Conference, which began on Friday.

Ukraine has four nuclear plants, and there have been concerns about them being targeted by Russia during the conflict.

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the Russian-occupied south of Ukraine is Europe’s biggest, and one of the 10 largest in the world.

The IAEA said on X, its chief Rafael Rossi said the incident at Chernobyl, and increases in military activity around Zaporizhzhia underlined the risks to nuclear safety.

Rossi said, “There is no room for complacency, and the IAEA remains on high alert.”

The Sarcophagus of the Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor number 4 in Chornobyl, Ukraine, on Jan. 25, 2006. Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images

Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram: “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.”

‘Russia Must Be Held Accountable’

“Russia must be held accountable for what it is doing,” he added.

Zelenskyy is due to meet with Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Munich Security Conference on Friday.

Earlier this week Vance warned European leaders it was “unrealistic” for Ukraine to join NATO and also for it to return to its pre-2014 borders.

Zelenskyy has world leaders against “trusting Putin’s claims of readiness to end the war.”

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.