The nuclear reactor of the former Soviet Union power plant was fully destroyed in an accident in 1986 and a sarcophagus had to be built over the debris. It is not the first time that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces have targeted the facility.
Zelenskyy said Russia had also attacked 13 civilian facilities across Ukraine overnight. According to the Ukrainian leader, Moscow over the past week has launched 88 missiles, 3,250 drones and 1,800 guided aerial bombs against his country. Ukrainian media reported that at least seven people were killed and 61 injured in the latest Russian attacks.
The Ukrainian leader in his social media post stressed that “pressure on Russia must be increased.”
Ukraine, for its part, launched hundreds of drones at targets in Russia over the weekend, including around St. Petersburg on the final day of the city’s economic forum, which has come to known as Putin’s Davos. According to Russian exile media and news agencies, one person was killed and an oil depot caught fire.
Russia’s defense ministry said on Sunday that the Russian military had destroyed 500 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones in one day. Air defense systems shot down 11 guided aerial bombs and a rocket from a U.S.-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system, the ministry said.
The strikes near St. Petersburg came hours after Putin rejected meeting with Zelenskyy, who had sent the Russian leader a letter calling for peace talks. Putin also said on Friday that there were “elements of rudeness” in the letter.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Sunday criticized Zelenskyy for announcing the letter instead of simply sending it to Moscow. “If you want to deliver a letter, deliver it. If you use a megaphone, don’t call it a letter,” Peskov said in an interview with Vesti news service.
Zelenskyy, meanwhile, was heading to London on Sunday for a planned meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The leaders are expected to discuss military support for Kyiv and the future of peace negotiations.