The situation at Chernobyl NPP may change - Exclusion Zone Management Agency

To date, no radioactive substances have been released after a Russian drone hit the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, but the situation may change for the worse if the Russians attack the facility again. This was stated by the head of the State Agency of Ukraine for Exclusion Zone Management Grigory Ishchenko on the air of the telethon .

According to him, specialists are constantly monitoring the level of radiation background at the plant and around it and so far the investigated parameters have been within normal limits.

"The situation with the radiation background on the territory of the Chernobyl NPP site, including the NSC of the Shelter facility since the beginning of the fire and in the process of eliminating the consequences of the fire remains unchanged," he said.

Ishchenko assured that the personnel who work at the Chernobyl NPP, as well as rescuers observe precautionary measures and their health is not threatened.

He added that a meeting with the participation of many research institutes was scheduled for next week in order to assess the damage to the confinement and pass the information to the state leadership.

We would add that Ukrainian firefighters worked around the clock in freezing weather to fully extinguish small fires still smouldering after a drone strike on a building containing the remains of a reactor destroyed in the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident.

A Russian attack drone with a high-explosive warhead hit the shelter of the destroyed Unit 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear plant on the night of 14 February. Both the outer and inner cladding of the facility's arch was damaged, resulting in a hole approximately six metres in diameter, and some equipment and electrical cables were damaged.