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.

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 struck the former nuclear power plant at Chernobyl in an attack overnight into Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

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

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.

Ukrainians conducted another successful attack on Russian fuel infrastructure. On Tuesday morning, drones attacked a refinery in Saratov. A series of explosions were also heard near an airbase close to the city of Engels.