A Russian strike could collapse the internal radiation shelter at the defunct Chornobyl nuclear power station in Ukraine, the plant’s director has told AFP.
Kyiv has accused Russia of repeatedly targeting the facility, the site of a 1986 meltdown that is still the world’s worst ever nuclear disaster, since Moscow invaded in February 2022.
In an interview with AFP, plant director Sergiy Tarakanov said fully restoring that shelter could take three to four years, and warned that another Russian hit could see the inner shell collapse.
“If a missile or drone hits it directly, or even falls somewhere nearby, for example, an Iskander, God forbid, it will cause a mini-earthquake in the area,” Tarakanov told AFP in an interview conducted last week.
The Iskander is Russia’s short-range ballistic missile system that can carry a variety of conventional warheads, including those to destroy bunkers.
“No one can guarantee that the shelter facility will remain standing after that. That is the main threat,” he added.