On the night of June 7, a drone struck the site of the Centralized Storage Facility for Spent Nuclear Fuel (CSFSF) in the Chornobyl exclusion zone. According to Energoatom, the container receiving building was partially destroyed — it is through this facility that fuel is delivered for long-term storage. A fire covering approximately 40 square meters was extinguished quickly by rescuers. There were no casualties among personnel.
What is CSFSF and why this is not an ordinary facility
CSFSF is an above-ground dry storage facility of the container type that accumulates spent nuclear fuel from the Rivne, Khmelnytsky, and South Ukraine nuclear power plants. The idea of its creation was discussed starting in 2001, construction began in 2017, and the facility was put into operation only in 2024 — already during the full-scale war. Spent fuel retains radioactivity for thousands of years, so any damage to the reception and storage infrastructure represents a risk measured not in years, but in generations.
IAEA response
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi expressed serious concern and announced the dispatch of an inspection team to the facility.
"Attacks on nuclear facilities are absolutely unacceptable and directly contradict the key principles of nuclear safety, including seven indispensable pillars of nuclear safety and security during armed conflict."
Rafael Grossi, IAEA Director General
Ukraine's Ministry of Energy officially called on the IAEA to respond urgently. The Agency confirmed that a team will visit CSFSF shortly to assess the consequences.
Kyiv's official position
President Zelensky stated that the Shahed-type strike was deliberately aimed at nuclear infrastructure. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry, led by Andriy Sybiha, condemned the attack and called on partners to increase pressure on Russia. Moscow denied involvement.
- Radiation background — within normal range, confirmed by Energoatom and the IAEA.
- Damaged building — container reception facility, not the fuel storage itself.
- Fuel in containers — according to available data, not affected.
It should be noted: this is not the first strike on Ukraine's nuclear infrastructure since the full-scale invasion. The IAEA has already documented attacks on the Zaporizhzhia NPP and the shelter over the fourth reactor of the Chornobyl NPP. Each time, the Agency has refrained from directly assigning responsibility.
The key question after the IAEA inspection: whether the damaged reception building affected the integrity or logistics of container storage — and if so, how much time will be needed to restore the storage facility's operational capability.
