Zelenskyy warns that Russian drones endanger Chernobyl and other nuclear plants

Both Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia are not currently operational, but they require a constant power supply to run crucial cooling systems for spent fuel rods in order to avoid a potential nuclear incident

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a stark warning (AP)

Russia’s sustained bombardment of Ukraine’s power grid is deepening concerns about the safety of the country’s nuclear facilities after a drone knocked out power for more than three hours to the site of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in northern Ukraine, officials said.

The drone strike adds to concerns raised more than a week ago when the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in south-eastern Ukraine became disconnected from the power grid following attacks that each side has blamed on the other.