Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant drone strike

The strike immediately preceded the Munich Security Conference in Germany, where the Vice President of the United States JD Vance was scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The day prior to the strike, United States President Donald Trump announced potential peace negotiations following what he described as a "highly productive" conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. == Strike and responsibility ==

In the early hours of 14 February 2025, at approximately 1:50 am local time, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) personnel stationed at the Chernobyl site reported hearing an explosion at the New Safe Confinement facility. The facility was constructed to prevent the release of remaining radioactivity from the site of the Chernobyl disaster. According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the drone that conducted the strike was a HESA Shahed 136, with the SBU publishing photographs of drone fragments recovered at the site. The claim was supported by Marcel Plichta of the Centre for Global Law and Governance at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, who added that "Russia frequently uses attacks like this to regain control of the narrative". and the Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW) also said that a Russian Shahed drone had struck the plant. So did The New York Times in an article by Kim Barker, as well as Le Monde, France 24 and the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), attribute the strike to a Russian drone. Barbara Wiaderek and five other researchers stated that Ukraine's allegations against Russia were supported by the broader military context, as the strike took place during intensified Russian drone activity in northern Ukraine. Ukraine had been attacked that same night by Russian forces with 133 Shahed drones, 73 of which were shot down, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. British colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon wrote for The Daily Telegraph that there did not appear to be any viable military targets in the vicinity of Reactor 4 and that, "from what we know", Shahed drones were highly accurate in their attacks. He stated that although the drone strike could have been deliberately aimed, it was impossible to be sure due to the attack with over 100 drones that night. According to The New York Times, citing analysis by the British consulting company McKenzie Intelligence Services, the use of a guidance system with preset coordinates of their target by Shahed drones indicated "the almost certain deliberate targeting" of the nuclear power plant by the Russian military. == Aftermath ==

Following the strike, Ukrainian authorities conducted immediate assessments of the structural damage and potential radiation risks. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine confirmed that radiation levels remained within normal parameters, though initial evaluations indicated substantial damage to the protective shelter. President Zelenskyy later shared photographic evidence purportedly showing the interior of the damaged sarcophagus. IAEA experts conducted a walkdown of the containment structure the following day, and observed that the fire had apparently been fuelled by inflammable material in the roof cladding. They observed that a large area had been affected, and confirmed that both the outer and inner cladding had been breached, causing a hole of about six metres diameter. The structural support beams did not appear to have suffered major damage. IAEA experts also stated that the observed remains of a drone that Ukraine attributed to the strike were consistent with a Shahed-type drone. The IAEA has not attributed blame to either side of the conflict. Two weeks later the roof insulation was still smouldering. Thermal imaging was used to direct the injection of water to extinguish the fires, and repairs to the cladding were started. In May 2025, the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance reported that the cost of restoration could surpass €100 million, exceeding the €19 million that were held in the EBRD's Chernobyl fund. The French government pledged to provide an additional €10 million. In December 2025, the IAEA said that the structure could no longer perform its main safety function due to the drone strike. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said "mission confirmed that the (protective structure) had lost its primary safety functions, including the confinement capability, but also found that there was no permanent damage to its load-bearing structures or monitoring systems". == Reactions ==

President Zelenskyy described the attack and ongoing drone strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure as evidence that Russian leadership was not genuinely interested in diplomatic solutions, suggesting instead that such actions demonstrated an intent to "continue deceiving the world". Russian diplomat similarly accused Kyiv of reacting "hysterically" to the start of dialogue between Putin and Trump by launching large-scale drone attacks on Russian regions. Wiaderek et al. noted that Russian accusations against Ukraine were not supported by any evidence and that analysis of the drone debris and flight trajectory strongly suggested Russian involvement instead. == See also ==