Ukraine's nuclear ghosts were raised again on Friday after a drone armed with a warhead hit the protective outer shell of the plant at Chernobyl.

Ukraine said a Russian drone crashed into the containment structure, starting a fire, but so far radiation levels have stayed constant.

The radiation level after the explosion near the inactive nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine, remains normal, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported on Friday. The head of the agency emphasized that this incident "confirms persistent threats to nuclear safety.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine called the damage “significant” but said there were no signs of radiation leaks. A Kremlin spokesman denied that Russia had carried out the strike.

A Russian drone attack has hit the radiation shelter protecting Chernobyl's damaged nuclear reactor, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said. The overnight strike at the nuclear plant, which is the site of the world's worst nuclear accident, caused a fire that has since been extinguished, he added.

A drone armed with a warhead hit the protective outer shell of Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear plant early Friday, punching a hole in the structure and briefly starting a fire, in an attack Kyiv blamed on Russia.