[1] In the early hours of 14 February 2025, at approximately 1:50 AM local time, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) personnel stationed at the Chernobyl site reported hearing an explosion at the New Safe Confinement facility.
[3] Visual evidence of the strike, shared by Zelenskyy on social media platform Twitter/X, depicted an intense flash of light emanating from roof of the facility above Reactor 4, followed by a substantial column of smoke rising into the sky.
The State Emergency Service of Ukraine confirmed that radiation levels remained within normal parameters, though initial evaluations indicated substantial damage to the protective shelter.
[1][5] Zelenskyy described the attack and ongoing drone strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure as evidence that Russian leadership was not genuinely interested in diplomatic solutions, suggesting instead that such actions demonstrated an intent to "continue deceiving the world.
"[4] The Russian government denied allegations of striking the power plant, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stating that "our military doesn't do that" and suggesting that Ukrainian officials made the claim to disrupt peace negotiations.