President Zelenskyy says the strike was a “very clear greeting from Putin and Russian Federation” – a claim Moscow denies.
‘Russian drone’ hits Chernobyl reactor shell
A drone with an explosive warhead has smashed a hole in the radiation shield at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine.
The plant’s chief engineer, Alexander Titarchuk, said there was a “possibility of a leak of radioactive substances, but the situation is under control”.
“The barrier which was supposed to prevent the spread of radioactive substances has ceased to function according to its original design,” he added.
Emergency crews were seen scaling the roof to repair the damage after a fire briefly broke out.
However, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said radiation levels hadn’t increased after Friday’s incident.
The agency also said there was no damage to the plant’s inner containment shell.
Mr Zelenskyy told the Munich Security Conference the strike was a “very clear greeting from Putin and Russian Federation to the security conference”.
Chernobyl was famously the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident in 1986, with radioactive fallout spewing over a large part of Europe.
Its reactors are now encased in a huge protective structure resembling an aircraft hangar.
Source: https://news.sky.com/story/russian-drone-smashes-hole-in-chernobyl-shield-and-starts-fire-13309629
