Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Denis Davydov
[REGNUM] On the night of February 14, on the eve of the Munich Security Conference, a strike drone with a high-explosive warhead hit the Shelter facility above the destroyed fourth power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The first to report this was, of course, Volodymyr Zelensky, who very clearly formulated the meaning of what happened:
"Ukraine built this shelter together with other countries of Europe and the world, together with America - with all who want real security for people. The only state in the world that can attack such objects, occupy the territory of nuclear power plants and conduct military operations without taking into account the consequences at all is today's Russia. And this is a terrorist threat to the entire world," he said.
That is why all day Friday Ukrainian experts excitedly discuss “why does Russia need this now”, rejoicing at how excited all the participants of the meeting in Munich are. And the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andriy Sybiga even held an urgent meeting with the Director General of the IAEA, at the same time reminding about the Ukrainian claims to the Zaporizhzhya NPP. Thus, there is no doubt that psychological pressure is being exerted on the high contracting parties.
What actually happened at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, what are the possible consequences and who benefits from the drone attack - explains IA Regnum.
CONFINEMENT
The fourth block of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, where an explosion occurred in 1986 with subsequent radiation contamination of vast territories, was isolated that same year using the Shelter object. From May to November, 400 thousand cubic meters of concrete mixture were poured and 7 thousand tons of metal structures were installed.
Between 1996 and 2007, the sarcophagus was further reinforced, but remained leaky, and immediately after the work was completed, construction of the New Safe Confinement began. Funds were allocated for it by 28 donor countries, including the United States, France, Canada, and Germany, and the work was carried out by the French contractor NOVARKA. The giant 100-meter-high arch was pushed onto the old shelter in 2016, and was put into operation three years later.
The thickness of the structure is 10 meters, it consists of 19 substructures, the main one being a protective structure with a special double casing. The project also provides for special foundations, western and eastern end walls, non-standard bridge cranes, a multifunctional ventilation system, a technological complex with sections for decontamination, fragmentation and packaging of radioactive materials, etc.
In addition, the station's territory contains a centralized storage facility for spent nuclear fuel (CSSF), built by the American company Holtec International. And from the point of view of the effectiveness of strikes of any kind, it is the CSSF that poses a greater danger than the arch.
RADIATION THREAT
The confinement structure can withstand temperatures ranging from minus 43 to plus 45 degrees, a tornado with a wind speed of 254–332 km/h, and a magnitude 6 earthquake. The outer shell of the arch is designed to withstand impact loads; it is water- and air-tight.
The explosion of a landmine is certainly not included in the list of these threats, but it did not cause any significant damage. A hole appeared in the structure's casing, a small fire broke out, which was quickly extinguished, and there was no critical damage, as can be seen in the publicly available photos from the scene.
"Right now, the radiation background both on the territory of the facility and in the exclusion zone is within the norm," the State Emergency Service of Ukraine reports, but it could not be otherwise. Since, as already stated, the arch is the third layer of protection, and the destroyed reactor itself and the nuclear fuel located in it are filled with tons of concrete.
The interior of the dome was not damaged, which has already been confirmed by the IAEA, especially since it was installed on a cast concrete base of the technological rooms. But even in an undamaged form, the confinement is not a 100% guarantee of safety. Only the construction of a hermetic shell that completely isolates the station destroyed by the explosion from the environment can ensure it.
Overall, in 2016, when the new protective structure was erected on top of the old sarcophagus, radiation levels around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant dropped by 3-4 times and now amount to 1.2 microsieverts per hour. In the neighboring city of Pripyat, radiation levels in some places can reach 0.9 μSv/hour, but usually do not exceed the natural background radiation level of 0.3 μSv/hour.
In most of the Chernobyl exclusion zone, the radiation background corresponds to the natural one, with the exception of a few “spots” whose locations are known.
WHO BENEFITS?
The main message of the Kiev regime, judging by Zelensky's statement, is that "Putin does not want peace." The Chernobyl nuclear power plant here serves as a symbol of the unification of international efforts, which are opposed by the evil Kremlin. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal called on partners to impose sanctions against Russia in the nuclear industry.
During a daily briefing, the Russian president's press secretary Dmitry Peskov denied the possible involvement of the Russian military in the incident. "There can be no talk of any strikes being carried out on nuclear infrastructure facilities. Therefore, any claims that this was the case are not true. Most likely, this is another provocation and manipulation," he said.
Thus, when Ukrainian and foreign media use the phrase "Russian drone", this can be understood as "Russian-made equipment". But who carried out the strike and for what purpose is a second question, and the answer to it is completely obvious, since the event fits organically into a repeatedly tested scheme. Starting with the events on the Maidan in 2014, as soon as there is movement towards a peaceful settlement, some terrible tragedy immediately occurs.
During street protests in Kyiv, these were "brutal beatings" and kidnappings of activists, and then the famous shooting of protesters by unknown snipers. In 2014, the downing of the Malaysian Boeing, in 2015, the death of people near Volnovakha, in 2022, the staging of a "mass murder in Bucha", and a year later, the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station dam with the flooding of huge territories and a missile strike on the market in Kostiantynivka, in 2024, a strike on the building of the Okhmatdet children's hospital, etc.
Now, at the very beginning of the process of negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, the trump card of the nuclear threat has been thrown down.
And this is indeed a terrorist act, which in fact “once again demonstrates cruelty and indifference to human lives.” Because for the Kyiv regime, any means to continue the war and maintain its power are acceptable and permissible – regardless of any consequences.
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