Kyiv, Ukraine — At least 16 people were killed in previous attacks in Ukraine, Russian-occupied territories and Russia, officials said Sunday. 40th anniversary of Chernobyl nuclear disaster New warnings were issued about the risks posed by attacks near the plant during Russia’s invasion for more than four years His neighbor’s.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky marked the anniversary With the warning that Russian attacks risk repeating history.
“Russia is once again bringing the world to the brink of a man-made disaster – Russian-Iranian Martyr regularly fly over the plant, and one of them attacked the prison last year,” he wrote on Facebook, referring to Iran-designed drones that have wreaked havoc since Moscow launched its all-out war in February 2022.
Zelensky said, “The world must not allow this nuclear terrorism to continue and the best way is to force Russia to stop its reckless attacks.”
Russian drone and missile attacks on the city of Dnipro killed at least nine people, regional head Oleksandr Hanza said Sunday.
One person killed in Ukrainian drone strike on Russian-held port city of Sevastopol CrimeaMoscow-based officials said on Sunday. Russia annexed the peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, a move considered illegal by much of the world, and used it as a staging point and supply point during the war.
Leonid Pasechnik, the Russian-appointed governor of Ukraine’s Luhansk region – whom Russia ousted earlier this month Said that he has taken complete control into his handsThree people were said to have been killed in an overnight Ukrainian drone strike on a village – a claim denied by Ukraine, after two people were reported dead in the early hours of Saturday.
Ukraine did not comment on either attack, which could not be independently verified by The Associated Press.
Earlier, a woman was killed in a Ukrainian drone strike on Russia’s Belgorod border region, according to local officials.
Ukrainian forces also attacked an oil refinery in Yaroslavl, inside Russian territory, Ukraine’s General Staff said Sunday. The attacks sparked a fire at the facility, which processes 15 million tons of oil a year and produces gasoline, diesel and jet fuel for the Russian military. Russia did not immediately comment.
Ukraine has developed its own long-range drones, which can reach targets about 1,500 kilometers (900 miles) inside Russia.
It has recently used them against Russian oil facilities as Moscow seeks to boost its exports after the Trump administration granted a temporary waiver from sanctions to ease supply disruptions. Kiev officials complain that Russia will use the extra revenue on new weapons to crack down on Ukraine.
International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi reiterated Zelensky’s concerns over Chernobyl during a visit to Kiev and said repairs to the plant’s damaged outer protective shell should begin immediately.
The IAEA’s assessment shows that damage after a strike last year has already compromised a key safety function of the structure, he said, warning that years of inactivity could increase the threat to the original coffin beneath it.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said repairs would require at least 500 million euros ($586 million).
Energy Minister Dennis Smyhl said on Sunday that the partner’s commitment to repair the facility totals 100 million euros ($108 million). This is in addition to the previously agreed 30 million euros ($32 million).
Ukrainian officials say a Russian drone in February 2025 struck the outer shell of the plant’s new secure confinement structure — a $2.1 billion vaulted enclosure completed in 2019 over the remains of reactor No. 4. Moscow denied targeting the plant, alleging that Kiev had staged the attack.
Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov visited North Korea on Sunday for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un about future military cooperation between the countries.
According to Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti, Belousov said the countries had agreed to “transform military cooperation on a permanent, long-term basis.”
During the visit, he presented the Russian Order of Courage to Korean service members serving in the Kursk region of Russia, where Ukraine had launched a campaign. surprise attack In August 2024.
Kim has sent thousands of troops and large arms shipments to support Russia’s war against Ukraine.
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Associated Press journalist Volodymyr Yurchuk in Kiev, Ukraine, contributed to this report.
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