Russian drone 'struck' Chernobyl cover, Russia denies claims

KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy claimed on Friday that a Russian drone had struck a cover built to contain radiation at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, adding that radiation levels were normal.

Russia has denied Zelenskiy's accusation, saying Ukranian president's claim that a Russian drone had struck the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was a staged “provocation” by Kyiv to blackmail the West into giving it more aid.

Zelenskiy had said that a drone had caused significant damage to the radiation containment shelter at the plant, but that radiation levels remained normal after the incident, which came as top US, Ukrainian and European officials gathered at the Munich Security Conference to discuss the war in Ukraine.

 A spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, accused Zelenskiy of orchestrating the alleged drone attack to coincide with the Munich event as part of a lobbying effort to secure more weapons and money from the West.

"There was never any doubt that Zelenskiy would not come to the Munich conference empty-handed [...] The hands of the Kyiv regime must always be busy with some children’s rattles to distract the attention of the conference participants. Zelenskiy travels with performances that are backed up by provocations," Zakharova told a news briefing in Moscow.

"Is there any doubt in anyone’s mind that this is a provocation? There can be no doubt. A performance was needed to lobby for arms deliveries and convince the world public. A scary, bloody and very dangerous performance," she said, accusing Kyiv of using nuclear plants for "blackmail".

The Ukrainian air force said that Russia had launched 133 drones across the country overnight — including attack drones — targeting northern regions of the country where the Chernobyl power plant lies.

"Last night, a Russian attack drone with a high-explosive warhead struck the cover protecting the world from radiation at the destroyed 4th power unit of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant," Zelenskiy said in a social media post.

The comments came just hours before Zelenskiy was due to meet with US Vice President JD Vance in Germany to lay out Ukraine's case before a new US administration eager to quickly end the nearly three-year war.

The attack is evidence that Russian President Vladimir "Putin is definitely not preparing for negotiations — he is preparing to continue deceiving the world", Zelenskiy said.

CCTV footage posted by the Ukrainian leader showed a blast on the side of the Chernobyl structure in footage that was timestamped 02:02am (0002 GMT).

The Kremlin rejected that its army targeted Ukrainian nuclear structures.

"There is no question of any strikes on such nuclear infrastructure sites. Any claims that this was the case do not correspond to reality. The Russian military does not do this," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Friday, after stating that he did not have "exact information" about the reported hit on Chernobyl.

Zelenskiy's video also showed a small fire and hole in the roof, and firefighters using a hose to put out the blaze from the inside of the dome.

He said the drone had flown at an altitude of 85 metres (yards), too low to be detected by radar.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also reported an "explosion" at the site, and said "radiation levels inside and outside remain normal and stable."

The agency, which has had a team deployed at Chernobyl since the early stages of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, published images apparently showing the drone on fire after crashing into the covering.

The IAEA has repeatedly warned of the dangers of fighting around nuclear plants following Russia's full-scale military offensive into Ukraine in February 2022.