&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Significant structural damage to building: IAEA on drone strike near Chernobyl nuclear power plant")
Hours after Ukraine claimed a drone attack by by Russia on a storage facility for spent nuclear fuel near disused Chernobyl power plant on Sunday (June 7), an IAEA team inspected the site and said that there wasn't any disturbance to the radiation levels but the attack caused "significant structural damage to part of the fuel reception building, including to the IAEA safeguards office located there."
"The team of experts observed damage to the building’s facade, walls and staircase, with shattered glass shards, broken bricks and other debris seen scattered on the ground. They confirmed that radiation levels at the facility remained normal, indicating that the incident did not cause any radioactive contamination," read the statement released by IAEA.
However the Director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi called it "an extremely concerning incident" in terms of nuclear safety.
"It was an extremely concerning incident and a close call in terms of nuclear safety. Attacking a facility with large amounts of nuclear material is like playing with fire and it must never happen, DG Grossi says, adding that the IAEA will continue to investigate the incident," said Grossi.
"Russia’s nuclear blackmail unacceptable"
Soon after the attack, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha took to X to write. “This is not the first time Russian forces are putting Ukrainian nuclear facilities at risk."
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“Russia’s nuclear blackmail and threats to nuclear safety are systemic, deliberate, and unacceptable," Sybiha added.
Russia is yet to confirm the attack on the facility, located around 9 miles from the Chernobyl plant.
