Ukraine condemns Russian drone strike on Chornobyl nuclear facility

A Russian Shahed drone struck a building at the Centralized Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility near the decommissioned Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant on June 7, 2026. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the attack “extremely vile” and framed it as part of an escalating pattern of deliberate strikes on the country’s nuclear infrastructure.

The early-morning strike damaged a fuel-reception building but caused no casualties and no elevation in radiation levels, according to Ukrainian officials. First responders extinguished a fire at the site without reported injuries.

This is the second confirmed drone strike on Chornobyl since February 14, 2025, when a drone hit the New Safe Confinement structure, the massive arch built to contain radioactive remnants of the 1986 disaster.

What happened and why it matters

The Chornobyl facility, while decommissioned, still houses significant quantities of spent nuclear fuel. Spent nuclear fuel is intensely radioactive material that requires careful containment, cooling, and monitoring. Damaging the buildings designed to handle that material introduces risks that extend well beyond Ukraine’s borders.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called for worldwide condemnation of the attack, characterizing Russia’s actions as a form of nuclear blackmail.

A pattern of nuclear brinkmanship

Since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, nuclear safety in Ukraine has been a persistent concern. The International Atomic Energy Agency has been monitoring risks associated with military actions near critical nuclear infrastructure throughout the conflict.

Russian forces occupied the Chornobyl site itself in the early days of the invasion before withdrawing in late March 2022. The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest, has been under Russian military occupation since March 2022.

Zelenskyy highlighted what he described as a growing trend of deliberate attacks on Ukrainian nuclear facilities, noting an increase in what he called Russia’s “brazenness.”

The Chornobyl site remains under Ukrainian control despite sitting within an active conflict zone. The 1986 disaster there remains the worst nuclear accident in history.

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