Ukraine Accuses Russia of Hitting Nuclear Fuel Storage Near Chernobyl

On Tuesday, Ukrainian authorities announced that Russian artillery allegedly struck a storage depot holding spent nuclear fuel just outside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. The site, they said, is located near the village of Великий Іж, a short drive from the infamous power plant that was abandoned after the 1986 disaster.

"We have reliable evidence that Russian shells landed on a facility storing nuclear material," said Oleksandr Prokopenko, Ukraine's deputy defense minister, during a press briefing. "Any damage to such a site could have catastrophic consequences for the environment and for people living in the region."

The Ukrainian side supplied satellite images that, according to them, show a crater and smoke rising from the storage area. They claim the strike could have compromised containment barriers, potentially releasing radioactive particles into the air.

Russia, however, flatly denied involvement. A spokesperson for the Russian defence ministry dismissed the accusation as "unfounded propaganda" and insisted that their forces are targeting only military installations.

International watchdogs are now watching closely. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it is "deeply concerned" and is coordinating with both Kyiv and Moscow to verify the situation on the ground. "Any incident that jeopardises nuclear safety must be addressed immediately," the agency's spokesperson added.

Experts warn that even a minor breach at a spent‑fuel depot could trigger a chain reaction of contamination, especially given the delicate ecosystems that have been slowly recovering around Chernobyl for the past four decades. "We’re not talking about a reactor core, but spent fuel is still highly radioactive," noted Dr. Marta Kozlova, a nuclear safety analyst based in Warsaw.

The incident comes after a series of attacks on nuclear infrastructure, most notably the repeated shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest. Those episodes have already raised the spectre of a wider nuclear safety crisis in the region.

For now, Ukrainian officials say they will continue to monitor the site and urge the international community to intervene if any radiation leaks are detected. "Our priority is to protect our citizens and the environment," Prokopenko emphasized, adding that Kyiv will not let a single strike go unanswered.