The liquidation efforts have been ongoing for five days: what is the current situation at Chernobyl following the strike by a Russian drone?

As of the morning of Tuesday, February 18, rescuers are still working to mitigate the consequences of a Russian drone strike on the sarcophagus at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

This was reported by RBK-Ukraine citing the Telegram channel of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine.

According to the Ministry of Ecology, as of 07:00 on Tuesday, the radiation status remains under constant monitoring. The fluctuations in current values are within the usual limits for each point.

Inspection of the arch revealed that the drone attack damaged the outer cladding. Additionally, there are through-damage areas covering up to 15 square meters. Defects in the cladding and damage to the internal filler have been identified. There are also damages to the bolt connections.

Regarding the load-bearing structures, the nodes at the top of the maintenance garage are deformed.

Drone Attack on Chernobyl

On the night of Friday, February 14, the Russian army launched another drone strike on Ukrainian territory. The target was the sarcophagus at Chernobyl, which was hit by a drone equipped with an explosive warhead. The drone went undetected by radar due to its low flight altitude—up to 85 meters.

According to the State Agency of Ukraine for Management of the Exclusion Zone, the consequences of the attack could have been catastrophic if the drone had hit 15 meters away from the actual impact site.

It was previously reported that fire extinguishing operations at Chernobyl had been suspended. Monitoring of the situation continues with the help of a drone.

However, on February 17, new smoldering spots were discovered on the Chernobyl sarcophagus.