A Russian drone struck the grounds of the Institute for Nuclear Research in Kyiv this week, causing a fire but leaving the facility's test reactor undamaged, Ukraine's nuclear safety watchdog said on Thursday.
What happened
"On September 30, 2026 at 6:18 pm Kyiv time, a Russian drone struck the territory of the Institute for Nuclear Research, where the Kyiv Research Reactor is located," the regulator said in a statement. The resulting fire was quickly extinguished, there were no injuries, and the reactor was not damaged, it added.
The regulator did not say where exactly on the site the drone landed or release imagery of the attack. The research reactor at the site has a capacity of around 10 megawatts — about a hundredth of a conventional nuclear reactor — and has been shut down since 2022.
Escalation around nuclear sites
Several of Ukraine's nuclear sites have come under fire since the conflict began in February 2022, raising fears of a nuclear accident. The strike comes as Russia escalates its campaign of air strikes on Kyiv, putting the capital on near-constant alert.
In a separate attack reported Thursday, Russian air strikes injured one person in Kyiv and another in the Black Sea port city of Odesa, with infrastructure damaged in Odesa, Ukrainian officials said.
Neither Russia nor the UN's atomic energy watchdog had immediately commented on the reported strike at the research institute.
Sources: Russian drone hits Kyiv nuclear institute, reactor undamaged — Oman Observer (AFP)
What happened
"On September 30, 2026 at 6:18 pm Kyiv time, a Russian drone struck the territory of the Institute for Nuclear Research, where the Kyiv Research Reactor is located," the regulator said in a statement. The resulting fire was quickly extinguished, there were no injuries, and the reactor was not damaged, it added.
The regulator did not say where exactly on the site the drone landed or release imagery of the attack. The research reactor at the site has a capacity of around 10 megawatts — about a hundredth of a conventional nuclear reactor — and has been shut down since 2022.
Escalation around nuclear sites
Several of Ukraine's nuclear sites have come under fire since the conflict began in February 2022, raising fears of a nuclear accident. The strike comes as Russia escalates its campaign of air strikes on Kyiv, putting the capital on near-constant alert.
In a separate attack reported Thursday, Russian air strikes injured one person in Kyiv and another in the Black Sea port city of Odesa, with infrastructure damaged in Odesa, Ukrainian officials said.
Neither Russia nor the UN's atomic energy watchdog had immediately commented on the reported strike at the research institute.
Sources: Russian drone hits Kyiv nuclear institute, reactor undamaged — Oman Observer (AFP)
