The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said on Friday that a Russian drone had hit the roof built to contain radiation at the Chernobyl nuclear energy plant, adding that the radiation levels were normal.
The Ukraine Air Force said Russia had launched 133 drones throughout the country during the night, including attack drones, aimed at regions of the north of the country where the Chernobyl energy plant is located.
“Last night, an unmanned plane of Russian attack with a high explosive head hit the cover that protected the world of radiation in the destruction of the 4th power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear energy plant,” Zelensky said in a position In social networks.
The comments were produced only a few hours before Zelensky had to meet with the US vice president.
The attack is evidence that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, “is definitely not being prepared for negotiations: he is preparing to continue deceiving the world,” Zelensky said.
The CCTV images published by the Ukrainian leader showed an explosion on the side of the Chernobyl structure in images that were trafficked at 02:02 am.
The Kremlin rejected that its army attacked Ukrainian nuclear structures. “It is not any strike in such nuclear infrastructure sites. Any statement that this was the case does not correspond to reality. The Russian army does not do this, “Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday after stating that he had no” exact information “about the success informed in Chernobyl.
Zelensky’s video also showed a small fire and a hole in the roof, and firefighters who wear a hose to turn off the fire from inside the dome. He said the drone had flown at an altitude of 85 meters, too low to be detected by radar.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (OIEA) also reported an “explosion” on the site and said that “radiation levels inside and outside remain normal and stable.”
The agency, which has had a team deployed in Chernobyl from the early stages of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, published images that show the drone on fire after colliding against coverage.
The OIEA has repeatedly warned about the dangers of fighting around nuclear plants after the large -scale military offensive of Russia in Ukraine in February 2022.
Russia responded by calling Zelensky’s accusation a “kyiv staging” staging to blackmail to the West to give him more help.
Maria Zakharova, spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, accused Zelensky of orchestrating the alleged drone attack to coincide with the Munich event as part of a lobbying effort to ensure more weapons and money from the west.
“There was never any doubt that Zelenskiy would not come to Munich’s conference empty. The hands of the kyiv regime must always be busy with the rattle of some children to distract the attention of the conference participants.
“Zelensky travels with actions backed by provocations,” Zakharova told a news conference in Moscow. “Is there any doubt in someone’s mind that this is a provocation? There can be no doubt. A performance was needed to press for arms deliveries and convince the world public. A terrifying, bloody and very dangerous performance, “he said, accusing kyiv of using nuclear plants for” blackmail. “
Talks
In the first days of the conflict, the Russian forces briefly took the Chernobyl plant and also captured the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine, which still controls.
In 1986, a reactor in Chernobyl exploded during a failed security test, which resulted in the worst nuclear accident in the world that sent radiation clouds in much of Europe and forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate.
The Soviet authorities initially tried to cover up and then knock down the disaster.
In November 2016, a massive metal dome was erected on the remains of the reactor, paid with € 2.1 billion euros ($ 2.5 billion) in international funds, to stop future leaks.
“The only country in the world that attacks such sites, occupies nuclear power plants and the war releases without taking into account the consequences is today’s Russia,” Zelensky added in his statement.
Meanwhile, the Ukraine Ministry of Energy “asked the OIE to intensify efforts to avoid hostile attacks against nuclear facilities.”
Russian drones and missile attacks in energy facilities throughout the conflict have paralyzed the Ukrainian electricity generation capacity and forced routine and generalized energy cuts.
The apparent attack is ahead of a series of very anticipated meetings at the Munich Security Conference on Friday, which occur days after the president of the United States, Donald Trump, surprised kyiv and European allies when making a long call Telefónica with Putin and announced that the two leaders had agreed to soon begin the Peace Conversations of Ukraine.
An advisor to Zelensky’s Cabinet Chief said the Ukrainian delegation would put the Chernobyl attack on the agenda with the allies of the United States and Ukraine.
