Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on February 14 accused a Russian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of causing significant damage to a radioactive shield at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
Mr Zelensky said the drone crashed into a radio shield, causing a fire but was extinguished. "According to initial assessments, the damage to the radiation storage site is very significant," he said. Sharing with reporters in Munich, Germany, the Ukrainian leader noted that the drone was flying below radar, at an altitude of 85m.
Chernobyl plant's chief engineer Oleksandr Tytarchuk told reporters at the site that the drone exploded inside and damaged the radiation barrier structure. Rescue teams are trying to minimize the consequences of the incident. "The radioactive barrier is no longer operating as originally designed," Tytarchuk said.
He said the drone "botted into the exterior shell, penetrated, fell into the system and exploded there". If the blast went further 15-20m, "it would strike directly at a 40-year-old radioactive storage facility."
Ukraine's SBU security agency also released images of drones carrying powerful warheads.
Reuters reported that the drone was the Geran-2, Russian name Shahed-136, designed by Iran. Marcel Plichta - a researcher at the Center for Global Law and Governance at the University of St Andrews in Scotland - said that the image published by Ukraine almost certainly shows Shahed-136. The warheads of these drones usually weigh about 30kg.
Andriy Yermak - Chief of Staff of the Ukrainian President's Office - posted photos of the small fire near the roof of the radio storage area. This giant curved steel and concrete structure is called New Safe Confinement (NSC), completed in 2019 to replace the old version built by the Soviet Union and that has degraded. According to the European Bank for reconstruction and Development, this steel shield is 108m high, 162m long, 257m wide and has a lifespan of at least 100 years. The project cost 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) and was funded by 45 countries and organizations.
Ukrainian President Zelensky and the UN nuclear watchdog both confirmed that radiation levels remain normal after the latest incident in Chernobyl.
The attack on the Chernobyl nuclear plant came as senior officials from the US, Ukraine and Europe gathered at the Munich Security Conference to discuss the war in Ukraine.
Maria Zakharova - a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry - accused Ukraine of staging a drone attack in parallel with the Munich event in an effort to mobilize corridors to secure more weapons and money from the West.
Chernobyl was the site of the world's worst civil nuclear disaster when one of the plant's four reactors exploded in 1986. The detonator currently has a shield to block radiation.
On the same day, February 14, the Kremlin denied Ukraine's allegations that a Russian drone had destroyed the radioactive shield of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he did not have accurate information about the incident but confirmed that Russia did not attack nuclear infrastructure. "The Russian military does not do that. This is most likely just another Provocation," Peskov said.
