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Drone attack in Chernobyl: IAEA Director General Statement on the situation in Ukraine

Feb 14, 2025 , , , ,

Vienna, 14 February 2025

A drone attack early this morning caused a fire on the building confining the remains of the reactor destroyed in the 1986 Chornobyl accident, a deeply concerning incident that underlines the persistent risks to nuclear safety during the military conflict, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.

The IAEA team based at the site – who heard the explosion at 01:50am local time followed by smoke and associated fire visible from their dormitory rooms – were informed by Ukraine that a drone had struck the New Safe Confinement (NSC), a large structure built to prevent any radioactive release from the damaged reactor unit 4 and to protect it from any external hazard.

Fire safety personnel and vehicles arrived at the scene within minutes to extinguish the blaze, which still could be seen intermittently for several hours afterwards.

The IAEA team could see a breach of the outer layer of the NSC that occurred following the detonation. Supplementary information from Ukraine’s regulatory body received this morning confirmed that the outer cladding of the NSC arch sustained damage, and investigations are ongoing to determine the status of the inner cladding.

Radiation levels inside and outside the NSC building remain normal and stable, the IAEA team was informed. There were no reports of casualties.

Coming soon after a recent increase in military activity near Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), Director General Grossi said it once again demonstrated that nuclear safety remains under constant threat for as long as the conflict continues.

“There is no room for complacency, and the IAEA remains on high alert,” he said. “I once again call for maximum military restraint around Ukraine’s nuclear sites.”

The IAEA will provide further updates about the situation at Chornobyl as relevant information becomes available.

Following this week’s cancellation of a planned rotation of IAEA staff based at the ZNPP, Director General Grossi said he was in contact with both sides to ensure safe passage of the Agency teams as soon as possible. The IAEA has been present at the ZNPP since September 2022 to monitor and assess nuclear safety and security and help prevent an accident.

Related resources

Source – IAEA

 

A Russian Drone Deliberately Flew at Low Altitude and Struck the Chornobyl Sarcophagus Directly – Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Munich, 14 February 2025

By deliberately striking the shelter over the 4th power unit of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Russia has once again demonstrated its complete unwillingness to seek peace, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated during a media briefing at the Munich Security Conference.

“The drone was flying at an altitude of 85 meters. It is important to understand that radar systems do not detect objects at this height. There will, of course, be an investigation, but this already gives us reason to say that they did this intentionally,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

He emphasized that the drone strike directly hit the Chornobyl sarcophagus, one of the most hazardous sites in Europe, which was constructed with the help of 40 countries. The President also underscored that Russia launched this attack on the very day the Munich Security Conference began.

“To me, this is a very clear ‘message’ from Putin and the Russian Federation regarding the security conference. I don’t know what others think, but he certainly does not want peace. At least not under the conditions he is in today. I believe those conditions are quite comfortable for him – comfortable enough to strike the Chornobyl plant. A person who is truly under pressure from different sides would not do this. Someone who genuinely seeks dialogue and wants to end the war would not do this, in my opinion,” the President said.

Source – President of Ukraine

 

 

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