Russia could spark a huge crisis if it strikes a nuclear plant.

18:58, Mon, Jan 19, 2026 Updated: 19:20, Mon, Jan 19, 2026

TOPSHOT-UKRAINE-RUSSIA-CONFLICT

Zaporizhzhia power plant (Image: Getty)

Russia has been warned that it risks causing a "second Chernobyl" with attacks near Ukraine's energy facilities. Experts in military intelligence and energy said Vladimir Putin's ongoing bombardment of Ukraine's power grid, cutting electricity and heating in freezing temperatures, also risks triggering a largescale disaster. Serhiy Beskrestnov, a Ukrainian expert in electronic warfare, warned that the missiles being launched at energy infrastructure are falling in close proximity to nuclear reactors - some just 300 metres away.

He compared the impact of such an attack to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, when a catastrophic explosion and fire at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine unleashed huge amounts of radiation, forcing hundreds of thousands of evacuations. "A miss by an Iskander or Kinzhal [missile] could turn into a second Chernobyl," Mr Beskrestnov wrote on Telegram on Monday.

He said Moscow could usher in a second nuclear disaster while attempting to cause a nationwide blackout - noting that missiles have frequently missed their targets in the region before.

"Russian weapons have hit residential buildingsi nstead of military or industrual sites - including a deadly strike on an apartment building in Ternopil or damage to nearby homes during an attack on Kyiv's Luch Design Bureau," he wrote.

Ukraine's Military Intelligence (HUR) said on Saturday that Russia could launch fresh attacks on electricity substations supporting the operation of the countrys' nuclear power plants in a bid to force it into accepting Vladimir Putin's surrender terms.

HUR said Russia had already conducted reconaissance of 10 critical energy sites across nine Ukrainian regions.

Ukraine's new energy minister Denys Shmyhal also said last week that Russia had conducted 612 attacks on energy targets over the last year.

The barrage has intensified in recent months as night-time temperatures in the eastern European country plunged to -18C.

The latest news from around the world Invalid email

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our Privacy Policy

Throughout the four-year conflict, Russia has hammered Ukraine's power grid particularly hard during the colder months in a strategy that has been dubbed "weaponising winter".

Ukrainian officials have introduced emergency measures including temporarily easing curfew restrictions, allowing people to go to public heating centres set up by the authorities, Mr Shmyhal said.