A Russian drone struck a spent nuclear fuel storage facility near the Chornobyl nuclear plant in northern Ukraine on Sunday, partially destroying the building hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to London for talks with European leaders.
Ukraine's state-owned nuclear operator, Enerhoatom, confirmed the building was partially destroyed. Officials said a fire was put out and there were no injuries. Radiation levels, they added, remained at a normal level.
According to BBC News, Zelensky called the strike deliberate and condemned it publicly. "Russia deliberately struck this particular nuclear infrastructure facility," Zelensky said in a post on X, describing the building as an "extremely critical infrastructure facility" and the attack as "vile." Enerhoatom also criticized Moscow for what it called a deliberate threat to nuclear safety.
Separately, a Russian strike on Sunday killed three people and wounded one as they waited for a bus in the village of Balabyne in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region. The head of the regional military administration, Ivan Fedorov, reported the attack on his Telegram channel. Zaporizhzhia has faced relentless Russian attacks in recent weeks, with at least two people killed there on Saturday as well.
Zelensky provided a broader accounting of Russian military activity over the past week. He said Moscow had launched 88 missiles, more than 3,250 drones and 1,800 guided bombs in that span across 13 regions.
Later Sunday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted Zelensky alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at Downing Street. The meeting of the so-called E3 group focused on European support for Ukraine. The UK and France lead the coalition of the willing initiative, which aims to provide security guarantees for Ukraine as part of a potential future peace process. The group previously convened in London in December.
The London summit came one day after Ukraine launched what Russian authorities described as an unprecedented drone attack on St. Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city. Governor Alexander Beglov said three people sustained minor injuries. The attack targeted the city less than 24 hours after the close of Putin's flagship economic forum there. According to the Associated Press, the strike was an embarrassing blow to Putin's efforts to portray the conflict as a distant event that does not affect Russian daily life.
Ukraine has dramatically extended its strike range over the four years since Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Days before the St. Petersburg attack, Kyiv had also struck the outskirts of the same city, sending a large plume of black smoke over the skyline.
On Friday, Putin rejected Zelensky's offer for face-to-face peace talks. He said he saw no point in such a meeting. US efforts to mediate a truce have largely stalled in recent months, and Washington's attention has shifted toward the Iran conflict.
The front line in Ukraine has remained largely static, with both sides relying increasingly on long-range drone and missile strikes to gain any advantage.
