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Zelenskyy: Russia’s “Coordinated Attack” on Energy Substation Created Nuclear Threat at Chornobyl
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that a Russian missile strike on an energy substation in Slavutych on October 1 caused a blackout lasting more than three hours at facilities of the former Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, raising serious safety concerns.
“The blackout affected critical infrastructure, including the New Safe Confinement, which shields the environment from radioactive debris from the destroyed fourth reactor,” Zelenskyy said. “It also impacted the storage of spent nuclear fuel, where we keep 80% of all fuel accumulated over the years—more than 3,250 tons of highly radioactive material.”
According to Zelenskyy, Russia launched the strike using over 20 drones, likely Russian-Iranian “Shahed” models, deliberately targeting the facility.
“Russia could not have been unaware of the consequences for Chornobyl,” he emphasized. “This was a coordinated attack designed to overwhelm defenses, using a wave of drones.”
The President also highlighted the ongoing crisis at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which entered its eighth day of blackout due to Russian shelling.
“External power, which should operate continuously under normal conditions, has not been restored. Russia is doing nothing to fix the situation,” Zelenskyy said. “This is a deliberate creation of a nuclear threat.”
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Zelenskyy stressed the global implications of the attacks.
“Each day Russia prolongs the war, refuses to fully stop hostilities, and continues striking our energy and nuclear infrastructure, it is creating a global danger,” he warned. Ukraine has five operational nuclear plants, he added, and “each of them could be a target for Russian drones or missiles.”
He called on the international community to act decisively: “We need strong, united responses from Europe, the United States, the G7, and G20 to ensure peace and safety. Weak measures will not protect human life.”
Zelenskyy concluded by thanking global supporters: “I am grateful to everyone who speaks out. The world cannot remain silent while Russia deliberately endangers nuclear safety.”
Earlier, an emergency situation has emerged at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant after Russian shelling of energy infrastructure in Slavutych, Kyiv region.
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