A Russian drone struck a facility used for handling spent nuclear fuel near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Ukrainian authorities said on Sunday, adding that radiation levels remain within normal limits and no injuries were reported.
According to Ukraine’s General Staff and state nuclear operator Energoatom, the attack damaged a container reception building at the Centralized Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility (CSFSF), located within the Chernobyl exclusion zone. The structure was partially destroyed and a fire covering about 40 square metres broke out following the strike. The blaze was later extinguished.
Energoatom said the drone hit the facility at around 2:10 a.m. local time on June 7. The company added that no spent nuclear fuel was stored inside the affected building at the time of the attack and that the incident did not impact the stored nuclear material.
“Radiation conditions at the site remain within established safety limits,” Energoatom said, noting that the situation continues to be monitored by relevant authorities.
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The CSFSF serves as Ukraine’s primary storage facility for spent nuclear fuel from the country’s nuclear power plants. Developed in partnership with US-based Holtec International, the facility uses dry-cask storage technology, where nuclear fuel is sealed in reinforced steel-and-concrete containers designed for long-term storage.
Energoatom said the damaged structure was used to receive and process storage containers before they were transferred to the main storage area.
“Once again, Russia continues to act as a terrorist state and nuclear terrorist, disregarding international law and the safety of millions of people,” the company said in a statement.
Russia has not publicly commented on the latest allegations.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the incident was part of a broader pattern of threats to the country’s nuclear infrastructure.
“This is not the first time Russian forces are putting Ukrainian nuclear facilities at risk,” Sybiha wrote on X.
This is not the first time Russian forces are putting Ukrainian nuclear facilities at risk. Russia’s nuclear blackmail and threats to nuclear safety are systemic, deliberate, and unacceptable. They deserve worldwide condemnation and increased pressure on the aggressor. @iaeaorg https://t.co/dqpzcG1Tfa
— Andrii Sybiha ???????? (@andrii_sybiha) June 7, 2026
“Russia’s nuclear blackmail and threats to nuclear safety are systemic, deliberate, and unacceptable. They deserve worldwide condemnation and increased pressure on the aggressor.”
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The attack follows a February 2025 incident in which a Russian drone reportedly damaged the New Safe Confinement structure that covers the reactor destroyed during the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. Moscow denied responsibility for that strike.
Ukraine and Russia have also repeatedly accused each other of endangering safety at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest nuclear facility.
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