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.

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

For the first time, a Russian projectile directly struck a structure containing a nuclear reactor. Moscow has increasingly been targeting Ukraine's nuclear infrastructure.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin on Friday dismissed as a "provocation" accusations by Ukraine that a Russian drone had damaged the containment shelter at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant overnight.

Adi Roche of Chernobyl Children International is calling for Chernobyl and all Nuclear Power Plants to be declared ‘No War Zones.'

Ukraine accused Russia of hitting the Chernobyl nuclear power plant with a drone strike. This comes just days after a phone call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to discuss a possible end to the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday that a Russian drone had caused significant damage to the radiation containment shelter at the disused Chornobyl nuclear power plant overnight.

Russia said on Friday that an accusation from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that a Russian drone had struck the Chornobyl nuclear power plant was a staged "provocation" by Kyiv to blackmail the West into giving it more aid.