On Wednesday, a Russian drone struck the grounds of Kyiv’s Institute for Nuclear Research, where a research nuclear reactor is located, Ukraine’s nuclear regulator said.
The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine said the drone hit the institute’s grounds at 6:18 p.m. local time, citing information provided by the research facility.
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A fire caused by the attack was quickly extinguished, with no casualties reported. Investigators and specialists continued assessing the damage.
Reactor undamaged and radiation levels normal
The VVR-M research reactor and systems essential to its safety were not damaged, according to the regulator.
Radiation monitoring recorded no changes following the strike. Radiation levels remained within the natural background range of 0.16 to 0.20 microsieverts per hour.
The reactor has been shut down since February 2022 as a precaution against wartime nuclear risks. Its active zone has been completely unloaded, meaning it currently contains no nuclear fuel.
Operations at the facility have since been limited to scheduled maintenance of systems important for nuclear and radiation safety.
“An attack by a [unmanned aerial vehicle] UAV on the grounds of the Institute for Nuclear Research is an attack on a peaceful nuclear facility that performs exclusively scientific and research functions,” the regulator said.
It described the strike as another violation of internationally recognized nuclear and radiation safety principles, characterizing it as a war crime.
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Institute conducts peaceful nuclear research
The Institute for Nuclear Research of Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences is one of the country’s leading research institutions in nuclear physics, nuclear energy, and radioecology.
Its VVR-M reactor serves as a neutron source for fundamental and applied nuclear physics research.
The institute also operates particle accelerators and laboratories used for research in radiation physics, nuclear technologies, and reactor materials.
Russia continues attacks on Kyiv
The strike on the institute occurred during an extended series of Russian attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian regions.
On Wednesday, Russia launched its first mass combined attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since the end of the heating season, using missiles and drones against facilities in Kyiv, the surrounding region and elsewhere. The assault affected 11 regions, killing five people, including a child, and injuring 14.
Russian attacks on the capital continued into Thursday. A drone struck a school in Kyiv’s Solomianskyi district while children were sheltering during an air raid alert, damaging the third floor and causing a fire. The children were not injured, and firefighters extinguished the blaze. Russian forces also struck warehouse facilities in the same district.
Later on Thursday, two Russian drone strikes hit near the supports of Kyiv’s Pivdennyi (South) Bridge , forcing authorities to suspend metro and surface public transport across the bridge. Municipal specialists began inspecting the structure, while social media claims that a drone struck as a metro train was crossing, blowing out windows in one of its cars.
Previously, Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi said that Russia has launched a renewed campaign of mass assaults against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure ahead of the winter.
“Since the summer, there has effectively not been a single day when the enemy did not attack energy infrastructure. But such a massive and combined attack took place for the first time since the end of the heating season,” he said.
The strikes damaged and destroyed energy equipment, although Koretskyi did not disclose which facilities were hit or the extent of the damage. He said he was awaiting a detailed report on the condition of the equipment and the expected timeframe for repairs.
The attacks also disrupted electricity supplies in the capital and the surrounding Kyiv region. DTEK said emergency power cuts were introduced in Kyiv on Ukrenergo’s instructions, meaning regular schedules temporarily did not apply. The capital was later returned to scheduled stabilization outages, while planned power-cut schedules were also introduced across the Kyiv region on Wednesday .
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