By AP
Kyiv, Updated: 06:15 PM Apr 26, 2026 IST
At least 16 people were killed in strikes over the weekend across Ukraine, Russian-occupied areas and inside Russia, authorities said, as the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster focused attention on the dangers of attacks near the nuclear site during Russia’s more-than-four-year invasion.
The death toll from Russian drone and missile strikes on the city of Dnipro rose to nine, regional head Oleksandr Hanzha said Sunday. Moscow-installed authorities in Crimea said one man was killed in a Ukrainian drone strike on Sevastopol. In the Russia-backed Luhansk regional administration, Leonid Pasechnik reported three people killed in an overnight Ukrainian drone strike on a village, after saying two people had died in early Saturday strikes. Russian regional officials also said a woman was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack in Belgorod.
Ukraine’s General Staff said Ukrainian forces struck an oil refinery in Yaroslavl, deep inside Russia, sparking fires at a facility that processes about 15 million tonnes of oil a year and produces fuel used by the Russian military. Russia had no immediate comment. Kyiv has been using longer-range drones—capable of reaching roughly 1,500 kilometres into Russia—and has recently targeted Russian oil infrastructure as Moscow seeks to boost exports after a temporary U.S. waiver eased some sanctions. Ukrainian officials say additional Russian revenue will be spent on weapons and used to intensify attacks on Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy marked the Chernobyl anniversary by warning that Russian strikes risk repeating history. “Through its war, Russia is once again bringing the world to the brink of a man-made disaster — Russian-Iranian Shaheds regularly fly over the plant, and one of them struck the confinement last year,” he wrote on Facebook. “The world must not allow this nuclear terrorism to continue, and the best way is to force Russia to stop its reckless attacks.”
Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, echoed those concerns during a visit to Kyiv, urging immediate repairs to the plant’s damaged outer protective shell. IAEA assessments indicate last year’s strike degraded a key safety function of the structure, he said, cautioning that years of inaction could increase risk to the original sarcophagus beneath it. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development estimates repairs would require at least €500 million (about $586 million).
Ukrainian officials say a Russian drone struck the outer shell of the New Safe Confinement—the $2.1 billion arch completed in 2019 over Reactor No. 4—in February 2025. Moscow denied targeting the plant and accused Kyiv of staging the incident.
