Ukraine Strikes Russian-Held Nuclear Plant as 5 Die in Attacks

Moscow launched a relentless overnight attack using 290 drones and six missiles across Ukrainian territory, according to New York Post and Ukraine’s Air Force reports.

In the frontline region of Sumy, air raids continued for nearly 24 hours as dozens of kamikaze drones pummeled civilian infrastructure. A 59-year-old man was killed and a railway station was almost completely destroyed in the sustained assault.

Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba condemned the strikes on Telegram, stating that the civilian railway station serves hundreds of residents daily for peaceful purposes and has become yet another target of what he termed the terrorist country.

The death toll climbed as local governors confirmed additional casualties across multiple regions. In Kharkiv, a 65-year-old woman and a 46-year-old man were killed. Two more civilians lost their lives in Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk, where residential houses and apartment buildings sustained direct hits.

Nuclear Plant Strike Raises Alarm

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility, which has been under Russian occupation since the early stages of the conflict now stretching beyond four years, was struck during Saturday’s attacks, according to Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom.

Alexei Likhachev, head of Rosatom, warned that the world is one step closer to an incident that would likely affect populations living far beyond the borders of Russia and Ukraine.

While the explosion did not damage critical equipment, Likhachev confirmed it created a hole in the turbine hall wall of one unit. The Russian official blamed Ukrainian drones for the strike, though both nations have repeatedly accused each other of targeting the plant throughout the war.

The six-reactor facility requires reliable power supply to maintain cooling systems and prevent a nuclear catastrophe. While Ukraine still controls Zaporizhzhia city and the northern portion of the region, most southern areas including the nuclear plant fell under Russian occupation early in the conflict.

Putin Threatens Wider Conflict

President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Ukrainian intelligence has detected preparations for a new large-scale assault on Kyiv, as Russian President Vladimir Putin grows increasingly emboldened to expand military operations beyond Ukraine’s borders.

Zelensky wrote on social media Saturday that Russia is now threatening nearby countries far more openly than previously observed. His statement followed Moscow’s recall of its ambassador to Armenia after that nation sought to strengthen European Union ties—a move Putin threatened would put Armenia at risk of the Ukrainian scenario.

The Ukrainian leader’s concerns gained credibility after a drone struck an apartment building in NATO member Romania on Thursday night, wounding two civilians and sparking fears of alliance involvement in the conflict.

This marked the first time a drone struck a building deep inside a NATO member’s territory, though unmanned aircraft have previously fallen on countries bordering Ukraine.

Putin attempted to deflect responsibility for the Romania incident during a Friday press conference in Kazakhstan, as reported by the Moscow Times. He claimed no one can determine aircraft origin without proper forensic examination and demanded objective data before Russia would provide assessment of what occurred.

With information from New York Post