Kyiv, 2 October 2025 — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Russia’s ongoing bombardment of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure is placing the country’s nuclear facilities at grave risk, including the Chernobyl site, where the world’s worst nuclear disaster occurred in 1986.
Drone Strikes Cut Power to Chernobyl
According to Ukrainian officials, a wave of Russian drone attacks on the town of Slavutych, which supplies power to Chernobyl, caused a three-hour blackout at the decommissioned plant earlier this week. The outage temporarily disrupted systems critical to maintaining the sarcophagus and storage facilities that contain radioactive material.
Zelenskyy said the strikes demonstrated Russia’s intent to “deliberately create the threat of radiation incidents,” accusing Moscow of weaponizing nuclear risk as part of its war strategy. He also criticised the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for what he described as a weak response to the escalating danger.
Zaporizhzhia Plant Also at Risk
The warning comes as the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest, remains disconnected from Ukraine’s power grid following repeated shelling. Both Zaporizhzhia and Chernobyl are non-operational but require constant electricity to cool spent fuel rods and maintain radiation monitoring systems. Any prolonged outage, experts caution, could trigger a serious nuclear safety incident.
Global Implications
“Every day of Russia’s war, every strike on our energy facilities, including those connected to nuclear safety, is a global threat,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly address. He urged stronger international action to prevent what he described as the risk of a new nuclear catastrophe on European soil.
The IAEA has confirmed “fluctuations” in power supply at Chernobyl but said backup systems prevented immediate danger. Still, the incident underscores the vulnerability of Ukraine’s nuclear infrastructure amid Russia’s sustained campaign against the country’s energy grid.
Chernobyl-Exclusion-Zone-Duga-Radar-_-Michael-Kotter
