- Drone targets Ukrainian nuclear plant
- Minimal damage, no radiation impact
- Rising violence and international aid
The likely target of a Russian drone strike in western Ukraine, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky, was a nuclear power plant.
He stated that early on Wednesday morning, Iranian-designed Shahed drones attacked the area surrounding the power facility in the western Khmelnytsky region.
Twenty people were injured, and the assault caused minor property damage, including broken windows.
Nuclear Facility Operations
The IAEA reported that the operations of the nuclear power facility were not affected.
“A region near the Khmelnytsky Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine experienced powerful explosions,” IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said in a statement. He added that the explosions underscore “the threats to nuclear safety” posed by the conflict.
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The Khmelnytsky facility comprises dual reactors, with one in operation and the other offline as scheduled since August.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, fighting has raised concerns about nuclear power facility interruptions.
Since March 2022, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power facility in eastern Ukraine has been under the control of Russian forces.
The accusation of “nuclear terror,” made by Kiev, is that Russia shelled the plant, endangering a radiation release. However, no significant incidents have occurred since the complete incursion a year ago.
Ongoing Concerns and International Aid
According to Mr. Zelensky, the Khmelnytsky strike showed that Ukraine’s air defences need international help.
Furthermore, he stated that Western businesses and nations supplied components for Russian drones and missiles, and that the Khmelnytsky attack demonstrated “how dangerous it can be when Russia circumvents international sanctions.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a €1.4 billion ($1.5 billion; £1.2 billion) aid package for Ukraine on Tuesday.
The forthcoming assistance will include missile defence systems designed to establish a “protective shield” around Ukrainian infrastructure, given Russian intentions to “use energy and cold shortages as weapons against the civilian population,” according to the source.
Ukrainian intelligence stated that a vehicle carrying four Russian FSB agents detonated in Berdyansk, Zaporizhzhia, on Thursday. Russian media suggests that an apparent improvised explosive device caused the death of at least one individual.
The purported explosion is the latest in a series of assaults targeting collaborators and Russian officials in occupied Ukraine.
Vladimir Malov, a United Russia party member in the Kherson region and a supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was fatally struck in September when his vehicle was detonated in an apparent assassination attempt.
