A Russian drone strike in western Ukraine likely targeted one of the country’s four major nuclear power facilities, president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The UN’s nuclear watchdog has expressed alarm over the attack in Khmelnytskyi oblast, which hit the region’s nuclear power plant and temporarily impacted the site’s radiation monitoring systems.
Mr Zelensky said the strike on Wednesday presented yet more evidence that tougher sanctions were needed against Russia.
At least 20 people were injured in the attacks in Khmelnytskyi region that shattered windows at the nuclear power plant and nearby sites and destroyed power lines, causing outages, Ukrainian officials said.
Power was temporarily cut to some sections of the power plant and hundreds of buildings in the area sustained damage.
“It is highly likely that the target for these drones was the Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plant – the shockwave from the explosion shattered windows, including those on the territory of the NPP [nuclear power plant],” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
“Every Russian strike, especially ones as audacious as those targeting nuclear plants and other critical facilities, is an argument that the pressure on the terrorist state is insufficient,” he said.
He said the assessment of the drones used in the attack showed their “missiles, originate from various countries, various companies, including Western ones”.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, said blasts from the drone attack did not affect the plant’s operations or its connection to the grid, but raised concerns over the proximity of the attack to the plant.
“The fact that numerous windows at the site were destroyed shows just how close it was. Next time, we may not be so fortunate,” said IAEA director general Rafael Grossi.
Some 1,700 buildings in the area sustained damage. These included 282 apartment blocks, more than 1,400 private homes, 41 educational institutions and six healthcare buildings, regional governor Serhiy Tyurin said.
The incident also caused damage to power lines, affecting over 1,800 consumers in the neighbouring towns of Netishyn and Slavuta, resulting in power outages.
The Ukrainian air force repelled all 11 Russian drone attacks overnight, the military said, adding that the damage was caused by blast waves and falling debris.
"At night, the enemy struck territory near the Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plant. As a result of the explosion, windows in administrative and laboratory buildings have been damaged," the energy ministry said on the Telegram messaging app.
Earlier, the Ukrainian president said Kyiv was preparing for “terrorist attacks on our energy infrastructure”. “This year we will not only defend ourselves, but also respond,” Mr Zelensky said.
