A Russian attack drone with a high-explosive warhead has struck the radiation shelter at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed in a social media post earlier today. The strike – which took place in the early hours of February 14 – caused a fire that has since been extinguished, he confirmed, but has caused “significant” damage to the shelter.
The New Safe Confinement (NSC), as the shelter is officially known, was completed in late 2016 to replace the outdated Shelter Structure that was put in place immediately after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. The 36,000 ton structure prevents the release of contaminated material from the number 4 reactor unit at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, which was destroyed in 1986.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – the world’s central intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical cooperation in the nuclear field – confirmed that fire safety personnel and vehicles responded within minutes to an overnight explosion, and no casualties were reported.
The agency is continuing to monitor the situation and is on “high alert.” As of Friday morning there is no indication of a breach in the radiation shelter’s inner containment and radiation levels inside and outside remain “normal and stable.”
