Just 15 kilometers from Chernobyl, a Russian drone struck a facility storing spent nuclear fuel – an incident that has renewed fears about nuclear security in Europe.
Chornobyl, Kyiv, Ukraine — June 7, 2026. In yet another brazen escalation of its hybrid nuclear warfare against Ukraine and Europe, Russia launched a Shahed-type drone strike overnight on the Centralized Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility near the village of Buryakivka in the Kyiv region – just 15 km from the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP). According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the facility – designed for the long-term safe storage of spent nuclear fuel from VVER-type reactors at Ukrainian nuclear power plants – was partially damaged. A fire broke out across approximately 40 square meters but was fully extinguished within one hour by Ukrainian firefighters and rescue teams. No casualties were reported.Remnants of the Russian Shahed drone were found at the scene.
Radiation levels remain within normal limits, with ongoing monitoring by emergency services.The Ukrainian military statement leaves no room for ambiguity:
“This is another act of nuclear terrorism is a continuation of the systematic policy of the Russian Federation aimed at creating risks for Ukraine’s nuclear energy facilities and all of Europe. The Armed Forces of Ukraine emphasize that the responsibility for all threats to nuclear and radiation safety created as a result of Russian aggression lies entirely with the Russian Federation. The international community must give a proper assessment to these criminal actions and increase pressure on the aggressor state to prevent a nuclear catastrophe in the center of Europe.”
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has already reacted. Following notification from Ukraine, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi expressed deep concern, noting that the attacked building was located just meters from a large quantity of stored nuclear material. The agency announced that its experts will soon visit the site to assess the damage.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy strongly condemned the attack, stating it represents an “exceedance even of the already sky-high level of Russian audacity.”This is not an isolated incident. It is part of Russia’s deliberate strategy of nuclear blackmail — targeting critical infrastructure that, if compromised, could trigger a radiological disaster affecting not only Ukraine but the entire European continent.The world cannot remain silent while Russia turns Europe’s most infamous nuclear exclusion zone into a battlefield. Every new strike brings us closer to the unthinkable.
Later, the Special Services of Ukraine confirmed that Russians hit nuclear fuel storage facility near Chernobyl NPP with Geran-2 drone, and some drone components found damaged at site.
“Investigators of the Security Service of Ukraine consider the Russian strike on the building of the Centralized Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility a war crime.
A criminal case has been opened under Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
As established by the SSU investigative and operational group, the Russian Armed Forces carried out this strike at 02:05 on June 7.
The explosion also damaged the building for receiving and reloading spent nuclear fuel and the IAEA administrative building.
It was established that the strike did not affect the production process of the storage facility. The radiation background is normal, there are no fatalities or injuries.”
During the Russian attack on the territory of the Centralized Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility near the Chernobyl NPP, the IAEA administrative building and the building for receiving and reloading spent nuclear fuel were damaged, the SBU qualifies the event as a war crime.
Sanctions. Isolation. Full accountability for the aggressor.
