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A suspected Russian drone reportedly struck the containment shell protecting the radioactive reactor and caused significant damage at the Chernobyl nuclear power blanket, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Friday (February 14) morning in a post shared on his X account.
The protective covering, which was placed around Reactor 4 in 2016, appeared to have sustained significant damage during the incident involving the unmanned aircraft.
"Last night, a Russian attack drone with a high-explosive warhead struck the shelter protecting the world from radiation at the destroyed 4th power unit of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant," Zelensky wrote. "This shelter was built by Ukraine together with other countries of Europe and the world, together with America – all those committed to real security for humanity. The only country in the world that attacks such sites, occupies nuclear power plants, and wages war without any regard for the consequences is today’s Russia. This is a terrorist threat to the entire world. The shelter at the Chornobyl NPP was damaged by this drone. The fire has been extinguished. As of now, radiation levels have not increased and are being constantly monitored. According to initial assessments, the damage to the shelter is significant. Every night, Russia carries out such attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure and cities. Russia continues to expand its army and shows no change in its deranged, anti-human state rhetoric. This means that Putin is definitely not preparing for negotiations — he is preparing to continue deceiving the world. That is why there must be unified pressure from all who value life – pressure on the aggressor. Russia must be held accountable for its actions."
The reported incident came hours after President Donald Trump claimed that the "very bloody war" between Russia and Ukraine could be nearing its end after having talks with both sides in a Truth Social post shared early Thursday (February 13) morning.
"GREAT TALKS WITH RUSSIA AND UKRAINE YESTERDAY. GOOD POSSIBILITY OF ENDING THAT HORRIBLE, VERY BLOODY WAR!!!" Trump wrote in all caps.
Trump's post was shared one day after he revealed that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to "immediately" begin discussions to end the war, which is the largest and deadliest land conflict to have taken place in Europe since World War II. Trump, who has publicly claimed that the war would've never happened had he still been in office, said that he and Putin had expressed a willingness to visit each other's countries.
“We expect that he’ll come here, and I’ll go there, and we’re going to meet also, probably in Saudi Arabia,” he told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday (February 12) via the New York Post before later adding that he planned to call Zelensky to notify him of the planned discussions.
“[W]e want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account. “No more lives should be lost!”
Chernobyl, a nuclear power plant located in Ukraine, was the site of the worst nuclear disaster in history on April 26, 1986 and has since been used to contain nuclear waste. Humans were evacuated from Chernobyl and its surrounding areas to avoid extreme levels of radiation, while an estimated 900 stray dogs, many of whom were descendants of pets left behind during the mass evacuation, managed to live in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
In 2022, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi told reporters that the former nuclear power station has reached "abnormal" radiation levels amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"The radiation level, I would say, is abnormal," Grossi said as the United Nations commemorated the 36th anniversary of the disaster, which stemmed from a flawed reactor design operated by improperly trained personnel via the Mirror. "There have been some moments when the levels have gone up because of the movement of the heavy equipment that Russian forces were bringing here and when they left."